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BBOTSFORD 

THE  PERSONAL  RELICS 

AND  ANTIQUARIAN  TREASURES 

SIR  WALTER  SCOTT 


MARY  MONICA  J, 


ABBOTSFORD 


ABBOTSFORD 


THE 


PERSONAL    RELICS    AND    ANTIQUARIAN 

TREASURES 


OF 


SIR  WALTER  SCOTT 


DESCRIBED  BY 

THE   HON.   MARY  MONICA  MAXWELL  SCOTT 

OF    ABBOTSFORD 

AND 

ILLUSTRATED    BY    WILLIAM    GIBB 


LONDON 
ADAM   AND   CHARLES    BLACK 

1893 


5-333 
Ml 


•STONE  CARVINGS   FROM   GARDEN  SCREEN 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION 

PLATES 

VIEW  OF  ABBOTSFORD  FROM  THE  NORTH  BANK  OF  THE  TWEED 
SIR  WALTER  SCOTT'S  DESK  AND  CHAIR  .  ... 

HALL  DOOR  LOOKING  TOWARDS  STUDY  AND  SHOWING  CORNER  OF  DESK 
STAIRCASE  IN  THE  STUDY   ... 
THE  DINING-ROOM       ... 

SIR  WALTER  SCOTT'S  BODY  CLOTHES     .... 
SIR  WALTER  SCOTT'S  PIPES,  SPECTACLES  AND  CASE,  AND  PAPER-CUTTER 
PRUNING-KNIFE,  MALLET,  CHISEL,  WHITE  TAIL  MOUNTED  IN  ANTIQUE  SILVER  HANDLE 
A  PURSE  WORN  BY  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT 
MONTROSE'S  SWORD    . 

PAIR  OF  PISTOLS  WHICH  BELONGED  TO  NAPOLEON  I.  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT'S 
VOLUNTEER  PISTOLS.  PISTOL  WHICH  BELONGED  TO  CLAVERHOUSE.  OLD 
PISTOL  BY  CAMPBELL  OF  DOUNE.  PISTOL  WHICH  BELONGED  TO  SIR  WALTER 
SCOTT  .....  . 

ENLARGED  DRAWING  OF  ARMOUR  FROM  HALL  DOOR 
NAPOLEON'S  PEN-CASE  AND  BLOTTING-BOOK 
WATERLOO  CUIRASSES  AND  SWORD 

QUEEN  MARY'S  SEAL.  TRICOLOURED  COCKADE.  PURSE  GIVEN  TO  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT 
BY  JOANNA  BAILLIE 

SOLDIER'S  MEMORANDUM  BOOK  FOUND  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  WATERLOO.  PIECE  OF 
OAT-CAKE  FOUND  IN  THE  POCKET  OF  A  DEAD  HIGHLANDER  ON  THE  FIELD  OF 
CULLODEN 


PAGE  VII 


Frontispiece 
PLATE  I 
II 
III 
IV 
V 
VI 
VII 
VIII 
IX 


X 

XI 

XII 

XIII 

XIV 

XV 


vi  ABBOTSFORD 

ANCIENT   BRONZE  MASK.     A   STEEL  SKULL-CAP  WITH   GUARD   OF  VERY   FINE   CHAIN 

MAIL.     THE  BRANKS     ...  .  ....  PLATE  XVI 

PRINCE   CHARLIE'S   QUAIGH.     BALFOUR  OF  BURLEIGH'S   SNUFF-BOX.     NAPOLEON   I.'s 

GOLD  BEE-CLASPS          ...  .  .  .  XVII 

BELT-PURSE  OR  SPORRAN  IN  STUDY.     POCKET-BOOK  WORKED  BY  FLORA  MACDONALD  XVIII 

ROB  ROY'S  GUN  AND  SWORD                       .                                                                                                  .  XIX 

TWO  PAIRS  OF  THUMBSCREWS  OR  THUMBIKINS       .                                                                          .  XX 

ROB  ROY'S  PURSE.     HELEN  MACGREGOR'S  BROOCH.     TOADSTONE  AMULET             .           .  XXI 

BORDER  WAR-HORN.    JAMES  VI. 's  HUNTING-BOTTLE  XXII 
A   POLYGAR'S  KNIFE.     A  PERSIAN   DAGGER   AND   SHEATH.      A   MALAY   KRIS.     A  CASE 
OF  HUNTING-KNIVES,  OR  COUTEAUX  DE  CHASSE.      ROB  ROY'S  DIRK.     A  TARTAR 

SWORD  IN  BRASS-MOUNTED  SHAGREEN  SCABBARD   .                                                             .  XXIII 

ROB  ROY'S  SPORRAN  AND  SKENE  DHU   .  XXIV 

THE  DOOR  OF  "THE  HEART  OF  MIDLOTHIAN"— THE  OLD  TOLBOOTH  OF  EDINBURGH— 

AND  ITS  KEYS XXV 


ORNAMENTAL  CHAPTER  HEADINGS 


ARCHBISHOP  SHARP'S  GRATE,  AND  ROMAN  POT. 
BACK  OF  CHAIR  AT  ABBOTSFORD. 


CARVED  PANELS  FROM  ERSKINE'S  PULPIT. 
PANELS  FROM  "SPEAK  A  BIT." 


STONE  CARVINGS  FROM  GARDEN  SCREEN. 


INTRODUCTION 


HE  drawing  of  Abbotsford  House  has  been  fitly  chosen  as  the  frontis- 
piece to  this  series  of  illustrations  of  Sir  Walter's  treasures,  so  beautifully 
drawn  by  Mr.  Gibb  ;  I  have  therefore  endeavoured  to  gather  together  the 
chief  facts  relating  to  the  building,  so  as  to  give  a  short  connected  account  of  the 
"Making  of  Abbotsford."1  No  words  of  mine  are  needed  to  remind  my  readers 
of  Sir  Walter's  love  for  his  home.  We  know  that,  as  in  joy,  so  also  in  sorrow  and 
loss,  and  to  the  very  end,  his  thoughts  turned  constantly  to  Abbotsford.  As  Mr. 
Lockhart  truly  says,  "  to  have  curtailed  the  exposition  of  his  fond  untiring  enthusiasm 
on  that  score,  would  have  been  like  omitting  the  Prince  in  a  cast  of  Hamlet."  It 
was  in  his  early  youth  that  Sir  Walter  first  saw  the  site  of  the  future  Abbotsford. 
"I  have  often  heard  him  tell,"  writes  Mr.  Lockhart,  "that  when  travelling  in  his 
boyhood  with  his  father,  from  Selkirk  to  Melrose,  the  old  man  suddenly  desired  the 
carriage  to  halt  at  the  foot  of  an  eminence,  and  said,  'We  must  get  out  here, 
Walter,  and  see  a  thing  quite  in  your  line.'  His  father  then  conducted  him  to  a 

1  The  following  pages  relate  to  Sir  Walter's  Abbotsford  only ;  but  I  may  be  permitted  to  add  that  the 
wing  to  the  west  of  the  square  tower  and  the  new  south  front  were  built  by  my  father  and  completed  in  1858. 
To  him  also  we  owe  the  present  arrangement  of  terraces  and  of  the  courtyard  garden. — M.  M.  M.  S. 


viii  ABBOTSFORD 

rude  stone  on  the  edge  of  an  acclivity,  about  half  a  mile  above  the  Tweed  at 
Abbotsford,  which  marks  the  spot 

'  Where-gallant  Cessford's  life-blood  dear 
Reeked  on  dark  Elliott's  border  spear.' 

This  was  the  conclusion  of  the  battle  of  Melrose,  fought  in  1526,  between  the  Earls- 
of  Angus  and  Home  and  the  two  chiefs  of  the  race  of  Kerr  on  the  one  side,  and 
Buccleuch  and  his  clan  on  the  other,  in  sight  of  the  young  King  James  V.,  the 
possession  of  whose  person  was  the  object  of  the  contest.  The  battle  is  often 
mentioned  in  the  Border  Minstrelsy.  .  .  .  In  the  names  of  various  localities  between 
Melrose  and  Abbotsford,  such  as  Skirmish-field,  Charge -law,  and  so  forth,  the 
incidents  of  the  fight  have  found  a  lasting  record ;  and  the  spot  where  the  retainer 
of  Buccleuch  terminated  the  pursuit  of  the  victors  by  the  mortal  wound  of  Kerr  of 
Cessford  (ancestor  of  the  Dukes  of  Roxburghe)  has  always  been  called  Turn-again."  * 

Sir  Walter  probably  never  forgot  this  incident,  for  when,  in  181 1,  he  determined 
to  become  a  "  Tweedside  Laird,"  he  fixed  upon  the  little  property  which,  though 
then  "  not  a  very  attractive  one  to  the  general  observer,  had  long  been  one  of 
peculiar  interest "  to  him. 

On  the  1 2th  May  1811,  Sir  Walter  writes  to  James  Ballantyne  upon  business, 
and  adds  :  "  My  attention  has  been  a  little  dissipated  by  considering  a  plan  for  my 
own  future  comfort  which  I  hasten  to  mention  to  you.  My  lease  of  Ashestiel 
is  out  ...  I  have  therefore  resolved  to  purchase  a  piece  of  ground  sufficient  for  a 
cottage  and  a  few  fields.  There  are  two  pieces,  either  of  which  would  suit  me,  but 
both  would  make  a  very  desirable  property  indeed.  They  stretch  along  the  Tweed, 
near  halfway  between  Melrose  and  Selkirk,  on  the  opposite  side  from  Lord  Somer- 
ville,  and  could  be  had  for  between  ^7000  and  ^8000,  or  either  separate  for  about 
half  the  sum.  I  have  serious  thoughts  of  one  or  both,  and  must  have  recourse  to 
my  pen  to  make  the  matter  easy." 

Of  the  two  adjoining  farms  here  mentioned,  Sir  Walter  soon  after  bought  the 
one  comprising  Turn-again.  The  person  from  whom  he  bought  the  property  was 
a  valued  friend  of  his  own,  Dr.  Robert  Douglas,  minister  of  Galashiels.  He  had 
never  resided  on  the  property,  and  the  only  embellishments  he  had  effected  had  been 
"limited  to  one  stripe  of  firs,  so  long  and  so  narrow  that  Scott  likened  it  to  a  black 

1   Turn-again  is  situated  in  the  wood  to  the  left  above  the  house.     Life  (in  10  vols.),  vol.  iii.  p.  335. 


INTRODUCTION  jx 

hair-comb.  It  ran  from  the  precincts  of  the  homestead  towards  Turn-again,  and 
has  bequeathed  the  name  of  the  Doctors  rcdding-kamc  to  the  mass  of  nobler  trees 
amidst  which  its  dark  straight  line  can  now  hardly  be  traced." ' 

Clarty  Hole,  as  the  farm  was  termed,  seems  to  have  deserved  its  inharmonious 
name ;  the  haugh  or  meadow  by  the  river  with  about  a  hundred  acres  of  undulating 
ground  at  the  back,  were  alike  in  a  most  neglected  state,  "undrained,  wretchedly 
enclosed,  much  of  it  covered  with  nothing  better  than  the  native  heath.  The  farm- 
house itself  was  small  and  poor,  with  a  common  kail-yard  on  one  flank  and  a  staring 
barn,  of  the  doctor's  erection,  on  the  other."  But,  as  Mr.  Lockhart  says,  the  Tweed 
was  everything  to  Sir  Walter,  and  from  the  moment  he  took  possession,  "  he  claimed 
for  his  farm  the  name  of  the  adjoining  ford,  situated  just  above  the  influx  of  the 
classical  tributary  Gala.  As  might  be  guessed  from  the  name  of  Abbotsford, 
all  these  lands  had  belonged  of  old  to  the  great  Abbey  of  Melrose."  2 

The  neighbourhood  of  two  antiquarian  remains  of  interest  lent  an  additional 
charm  to  the  little  property  in  Sir  Walter's  eyes.  To  the  left  of  the  site  of  the 
house  we  can  still  see  the  old  Roman  road  leading  down  to  the  ford,  while  on  the 
hill  opposite  Abbotsford  may  be  traced  the  Catrail  so  often  mentioned  in  Sir 
Walter's  early  letters  to  Mr.  Ellis. 

In  a  letter  to  his  brother-in-law  Mr.  Carpenter,  dated  5th  August,  Sir  Walter 
describes  his  new  property,  adding,  "  I  intend  building  a  small  cottage  here  for  my 
summer  abode,  being  obliged  by  law,  as  well  as  by  inclination,  to  make  this  county 
my  residence  for  some  months  every  year.  This  is  the  greatest  incident  which  has 
lately  taken  place  in  our  domestic  concerns.  And  I  assure  you  we  are  not  a  little 
proud  of  being  greeted  as  laird  and  lady  of  Abbotsford."  And  again,  in  a  letter  to 
Joanna  Baillie,  written  the  same  week,  the  new  Abbotsford  is  thus  mentioned  :  "  My 
schemes  about  my  cottage  go  on  ;  of  about  a  hundred  acres  I  have  manfully  resolved 
to  plant  from  sixty  to  seventy ;  as  to  my  scale  of  dwelling,  why  you  shall  see  my 
plan  when  I  have  adjusted  it.  My  present  intention  is  to  have  only  two  spare 
bedrooms  with  dressing-rooms,  each  of  which  will,  on  a  pinch,  have  a  couch  bed  ; 
but  I  cannot  relinquish  my  border  principle  of  accommodating  all  the  cousins  and 
duniwastles  who  will  rather  sleep  in  chairs  and  on  the  floor,  and  in  the  hay-loft,  than 
be  absent  when  folks  are  gathered  together." 

1  Life,  vol.  iii.  p.  339.  2  Ibid,  vol.  iii.  p.  340. 


x  ABBOTSFORD 

Sir  Walter  lost  no  time  in  planning  his  future  residence,  and  begged  Mr.  Stark1 
to  give  him  a  design  for  an  ornamental  cottage  in  -  the  style  of  the  old  English 
vicarage  house. 

But  before  his  wishes  could  be  met,  Mr.  Stark  died,  and  his  building  plans, 
checked  for  a  time,  expanded  by  degrees ;  and  in  place  of  the  cottage  the  present 
Abbotsford  gradually  took  form.  Sir  Walter's  first  plans,  for  his  house  are  sketched 
in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Morritt :  "  I  have  fixed  only  two  points,"  he  writes,  "respecting 
my  intended  cottage ;  one  is  that  it  shall  be  in  my  garden,  or  rather  kail-yard,  the 
other  that  the  little  drawing-room  shall  open  into  a  little  conservatory,  in  which 
conservatory  there  shall  be  a  fountain.  These  are  articles  of  taste  which  I  have 
long  since  determined  upon,  but  I  hope  before  a  stone  of  my  paradise  is  begun  we 
shall  meet  and  collogue  upon  it." 

By  the  following  year  some  little  progress  had  been  made,  and  such  improve- 
ments as  "a  good  garden  wall  and  complete  stables  in  the  Haugh"  are  mentioned  in 
a  letter  to  Terry.  In  the  spring  of  1814  Sir  Walter  presses  the  Morritts  to  visit  him. 
"  I  am  arranging  this  cottage  a  little  more  conveniently,"  he  writes,  "to  put  off  the 
plague  and  expense  of  building  another  year ;  and  I  assure  you  I  expect  to  spare 
Mrs.  Morritt  and  you  a  chamber  in  the  wall,  with  a  dressing-room  and  everything 
handsome  about  you.  You  will  not  stipulate  of  course  for  many  square  feet."  In 
the  autumn  Sir  Walter  says,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Terry :  "  I  wish  you  saw  Abbotsford, 
which  begins  this  season  to  look  the  whimsical,  gay,  odd  cabin  that  we  had  chalked 
out.  ...  I  have  made  the  old  farmhouse  my  corps  de  logis,  with  some  outlying  places 
for  kitchen,  laundry,  and  two  spare  bedrooms  which  run  along  the  east  wall  of  the 
farm-court  not  without  some  picturesque  effect."  Two  years  later  a  letter  to  the 
same  friend,  dated  November  1816,  and  written  from  Edinburgh,  reports  further 
progress ;  after  mentioning  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Bullock  and  Mr.  Blore,  to  both  of 
whom  Abbotsford  was  to  owe  much,  Sir  Walter  continues :  "  I  have  had  the 
assistance  of  both  these  gentlemen  in  arranging  an  addition  to  the  cottage  at 
Abbotsford,  intended  to  connect  the  present  farmhouse  with  the  line  of  low  buildings 
to  the  right  of  it.  Mr.  Bullock  will  show  you  the  plan,  which  I  think  is  very 
ingenious.  He  has  promised  to  give  it  his  consideration  with  respect  to  the 
interior ;  and  Mr.  Blore  has  drawn  me  a  very  handsome  elevation  both  to  the  road 
and  to  the  river.  .  .  .  This  addition  will  give  me  first  a  handsome  boudoir.  .  .  . 

1  An  Edinburgh  architect  of  whose  talents  Sir  Walter  had  a  high  opinion. 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

This  opens  into  the  little  drawing-room  to  which  it  serves  as  a  chapel  of  ease ;  and 
on  the  other  side  to  a  handsome  dining  parlour  of  27  feet  by  18,  with  three 
windows  to  the  north,  and  one  to  the  south,  the  last  to  be  Gothic  and  filled  with 
stained  glass.  Besides  these  commodities,  there  is  a  small  conservatory  or  green- 
house, and  a  study  for  myself  which  we  design  to  fit  up  with  ornaments  from 
Melrose  Abbey.  .  .  .  Abbotsford  is  looking  pretty  at  last,  and  the  planting  is 
making  some  show." 

By  the  July  of  1817  the  foundations  of  that  portion  of  Abbotsford  which  extends 
from  the  hall  westwards  to  the  square  tower  had  apparently  been  laid,  and  in 
September  Sir  Walter  writes  to  Joanna  Baillie  that  the  building  is  about  to  be 
roofed  in,  "  and  a  comical  concern  it  is,"  he  adds. 

The  projected  tower  seeing  to  have  suggested  some  criticism  from  Mr.  Terry, 
to  which  Sir  Walter  replies  :  "  I  agree  with  you  that  the  tower  will  look  rather  rich 
for  the  rest  of  the  building  ;  yet  you  may  be  assured  that  with  diagonal  chimneys 
and  notched  gables  it  will  have  a  very  fine  effect,  and  is  in  Scotch  architecture  by 
no  means  incompatible."  A  few  days  later  Sir  Walter  again  writes  to  Mr.  Terry 
detailing  plans  for  the  new  house,  of  which  he  says  :  "  Wilkie  admires  the  whole  as 
a  composition,  and  that  is  high  authority.  ...  I  do  not  believe  I  should  save  £100 
by  retaining  Mrs.  Redford  1  by  the  time  she  was  raised,  altered,  and  beautified ;  for, 
like  the  Highlandman's  gun,  she  wants  stock,  lock,  and  barrel,  to  put  her  into  repair. 
In  the  meantime  '  the  cabin  is  convenient.' ' 

Some  months  later  Sir  Walter  could  congratulate  himself  on  the  strength  of 
the  new  building.  "  I  have  reason  to  be  proud,"  he  writes,  "of  the  finishing  of  my 
castle,  for  even  of  the  tower,  for  which  I  trembled,  not  a  stone  has  been  shaken  by 
the  late  terrific  gale  which  blew  a  roof  clear  off  in  the  neighbourhood." 

It  was  in  the  autumn  of  this  year,  1818,  that  Mr.  Lockhart  first  saw  Abbotsford, 
and  he  confesses  that  it  then  had  a  fantastic  appearance,  being  but  a  fragment  of 
the  existing  edifice,  and  not  at  all  harmonising  in  its  outline  with  "  Mother  Redford's 
original  tenement  to  the  eastward";  but  he  continues,  "Scott,  however,  expatiated 
con  amore  on  the  rapidity  with  which,  being  chiefly  of  darkish  granite,  it  was  assuming 
a  'time-honoured'  aspect."  Later  in  the  same  evening  Mr.  Lockhart  tells  us  how 
the  younger  portion  of  the  party,  headed  by  Sir  Walter,  ascended  the  tower  and 
viewed  the  Tweed  and  Melrose  by  moonlight.2 

1  The  original  farmhouse.  *  Life,  vol.  v.  pp.  375,  376. 


xjj  ABBOTSFORD 

In  the  spring  of  1820  Sir  Walter  writes  to  Lady  Scott  from  London  :  "  I  have 
got  a  delightful  plan  for  the  addition  at  Abbotsford,  which  I  think  will  make  it  quite 
complete,  and  furnish  me  with  a  handsome  library,  and  you  with  a  drawing-room 
and  better  bedroom,  with  good  bedrooms  for  company,  etc.  It  will  cost  me  a  little 
hard  work  to  meet  the  expense,  but  I  have  been  a  good  while  idle."  On  his  return 
from  town,  Sir  Walter  brought  Mr.  Blore's  detailed  plans  for  this,  the  completion  of 
Abbotsford,  including  the  wall  and  gateway  of  the  courtyard  to  the  south  and  the 
graceful  arched  and  carved  stone  screen  which  divides  the  court  from  the  gardens.  The 
latter,  however,  had  been  originally  devised  by  Sir  Walter  himself.  "  The  founda- 
tions might  have  been  set  about  without  further  delay ;  but  he  was  very  reluctant 
to  authorise  the  demolition  of  the  rustic  porch  of  the  old  cottage,  with  its 
luxuriant  overgrowth  of  roses  and  jessamines;  and,  in  short,  could  not  make  up 
his  mind  to  sign  the  death-warrant  of  this  favourite  bower  until  winter  had 
robbed  it  of  its  beauties."1  The  building  operations  continued  throughout  the 
year,  and  in  the  summer  of  1822  the  house  was,  to  use  Sir  Walter's  expression, 
"like  a  cried  fair,"  with  the  masons  busy  at  work,  and  the  numerous  guests 
from  the  south,  who,  after  engaging  in  the  festivities  of  the  royal  visit  in 
Edinburgh,  hastened  to  Abbotsford. 

In  October  Sir  Walter  writes  to  his  son  :  "  My  new  house  is  quite  finished 
as  to  masonry,  and  we  are  now  getting  on  the  roof,  just  in  time  to  face  the  bad 
weather."  In  the  August  of  the  following  year  Miss  Edgeworth  visited  the  almost 
completed  Abbotsford,  and  her  impressions  are  charmingly  summed  up  in  her 
greeting  to  Sir  Walter,  who  received  her  at  the  archway  to  the  courtyard.  "  Every- 
thing about  you  is  exactly  what  one  ought  to  have  had  wit  enough  to  dream." 

Thus  by  the  beginning  of  1825  Abbotsford  was  ready  for  the  "house-warming," 
that  joyous  occasion  so  pleasantly  described  in  the  Life?  Who  could  then  have 
foreseen  that  before  the  year  was  over  heavy  clouds  of  misfortune  would  hang  over 
Abbotsford,  and  cause  Sir  Walter  to  write  such  words  as  these  in  his  Journal : 
1 8th  December,  "sad  hearts  at  Darnick  and  in  the  cottages  of  Abbotsford  ...  I 
have  half  resolved  never  to  see  the  place  again.  How  could  I  tread  my  hall 
with  such  a  diminished  crest?  How  live  a  poor  indebted  man  where  I  was 
once  the  wealthy — the  honoured?"  And  again,  22nd  January  1826,  "I  have 

1  Life,  vol.  vi.  p.  388.  "-  See  vol.  vii.  pp.  293,  etc.,  344. 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

walked  my  last  on  the  domains  I  have  planted — sate  the  last  time  in  the  halls 
I  have  built.  But  death  would  have  taken  them  from  me  if  misfortune  had 
spared  them."  1 

Happily  this  foreboding  was  not  fulfilled,  and  many  tranquil  days  were  still  to 
be  spent  at  Abbotsford.  It  may  perhaps  be  of  interest  to  insert  here  an  extract 
from  a  description  of  the  house  as  it  appeared  during  this  year.  The  account  is 
taken  from  a  magazine  article  published  in  1829,  written  in  the  character  of  an 
imaginary  American,  supposed  to  visit  Abbotsford  during  the  summer  of  1825,  in 
Sir  Walter's  absence.2 

After  describing  the  changes  wrought  in  the  surroundings  of  Abbotsford  by 
Sir  Walter's  patient  plantings  and  judicious  improvements,  the  writer  continues  : 
"  But  I  am  keeping  you  too  long  away  from  '  The  Roof-tree  of  Monkbarns,'  which 
is  situated  on  the  brink  of  the  last  of  a  series  of  irregular  hills,  descending  from 
the  elevation  of  the  Eildons  to  the  Tweed.  On  all  sides,  except  towards  the  river,  the 
house  connects  itself  with  the  gardens  (according  to  the  old  fashion  now  generally 
condemned) ; — so  that  there  is  no  want  of  air  and  space  about  the  habitation.  The 
building  is  such  a  one,  I  daresay,  as  nobody  but  he  would  ever  have  dreamed 
of  erecting ;  or,  if  he  had,  escaped  being  quizzed  for  his  pains.  Yet  it  is  eminently 
imposing  in  its  general  effect ;  and  in  most  of  its  details,  not  only  full  of  historical 
interest,  but  beauty  also.  It  is  no  doubt  a  thing  of  shreds  and  patches,  but  they 
have  been  combined  by  a  masterly  hand  ;  and  if  there  be  some  whimsicalities, 
that  in  an  ordinary  case  might  have  called  up  a  smile,  who  is  likely  now  or 
hereafter  to  contemplate  such  a  monument  of  such  a  man's  peculiar  tastes  and 
fancies,  without  feelings  of  a  far  different  order  ?  By  the  principal  approach  you 
come  very  suddenly  on  the  edifice ; — as  the  French  would  say,  '  Vous  tombez  sur  le 
chateau ' ;  but  this  evil,  if  evil  it  be,  was  unavoidable,  in  consequence  of  the 
vicinity  of  a  public  road,  which  cuts  off  the  chateau  and  its  plaisance  from  the  main 
body  of  park  and  wood.  The  gateway  is  a  lofty  arch  rising  out  of  an  embattled 
wall  of  considerable  height ;  and  the  jougs,  as  they  are  styled,  those  well-known 
emblems  of  feudal  authority,  hang  rusty  at  the  side ;  this  pair  being  relics  from  that 
great  citadel  of  the  old  Douglasses,  Thrieve  Castle  in  Galloway.  On  entering,  you 

1  Journal,  vol.  i.  pp.  52,  89. 

2  The  paper  on  Abbotsford  from  which  I  give  this  extract   was  published  as  a  keepsake,  called  the 
"Anniversary,"  and  added  by  Mr.  Lockhart  to  the  second  edition  of  the  Life  (in  10  vols.),  vol.  vii.  p.  395. 


xiv  ABBOTSFORD 

find  yourself  within  an  enclosure  of  perhaps  half  an  acre,  two  sides  thereof  being 
protected  by  the  high  wall  above  mentioned,  all  along  which,  inside,  a  trellised  walk 
extends  itself — broad,  cool,  and  dark  overhead  with  roses  and  honeysuckles.  The 
third  side,  to  the  east,  shows  a  screen  of  open  arches  of  Gothic  stone-work,  filled 
between  with  a  net-work  of  iron,  not  visible  until  you  come  close  to  it,  and  affording 
therefore  delightful  glimpses  of  the  gardens,  which  spread  upwards  with  many 
architectural  ornaments  of  turret,  porch,  urn,  vase,  etc.  This  elegant  screen  abuts 
on  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  house,  which  runs  along  the  whole  of  the  northern 
side  (and  a  small  part  of  the  western)  of  the  great  enclosure.  .  .  .  The  house  is 
more  than  150  feet  long  in  front,  as  I  paced  it;  was  built  at  two  different  onsets; 
has  a  tall  tower  at  either  end,  the  one  not  the  least  like  the  other ;  presents  sundry 
crowfooted,  alias  zigzagged,  gables  to  the  eye  ;  a  myriad  of  indentations  and  parapets, 
and  machicolated  eaves ;  most  fantastic  waterspouts ;  labelled  windows,  not  a  few 
of  them  painted  glass  ;  groups  of  right  Elizabethan  chimneys ;  balconies  of  diverse 
fashions,  greater  and  lesser ;  stones  carved  with  heraldries  innumerable,  let  in  here 
and  there  in  the  wall,  and  a  very  noble  projecting  gateway — a  facsimile,  I  am  told, 
of  that  appertaining  to  a  certain  dilapidated  royal  palace."  * 

The  story  of  the  building  of  Abbotsford  now  ends.  A  few  more  years  and  we 
come  to  the  very  affecting  account,  given  by  Mr.  Lockhart,  of  Sir  Walter's  last 
return  to  his  home.  Let  me  conclude  with  his  own  words :  "  I  have  seen  much," 
he  kept  saying,  "  but  nothing  like  my  ain  house." : 

In  the  notes  which  follow  I  have  attempted  to  give  some  history  of  Sir  Walter's 
"gabions";  but  the  graceful  drawings  which  head  the  letterpress,  as  well  as  the 
drawings  of  the  Roman  pot  and  ancient  grate,  require  some  separate  notice.  The 
Roman  pot  is  so  admirably  described  in  the  Reliquiae  Trottcosiana*  that  we  cannot  do 
better  than  quote  the  passage  :  "  On  the  hearth  before  the  grate  is  placed  a  bronze 
pot  of  the  largest  size,  which  was  found  about  twenty  years  since  in  the  domain  of 
Riddle,  in  Roxburghshire.  It  happened  that  the  housemaid,  with  unnecessary 
prodigality  of  domestic  labour,  had  bestowed  on  the  bronze  pot  several  coatings  of 
black-lead  when  she  was  burnishing  the  utensils  of  the  kitchen  with  that  substance. 

1  Linlithgow.  2  Life,  vol.  x.  p.  209. 

3  "The  descriptive  Catalogue  of  that  collection"  (the  Abbotsford  Museum)  "which  he  began  towards  the 
close  of  his  life,  but,  alas  !  never  finished,  is  entitled  Reliquia  Trottcosiancz—or  the  Gabions  of  the  late  Jonathan 
Oldbuck,  Esq."  Life,  vol.  v.  p.  143. 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

It  chanced,  at  a  sale  of  household  goods  by  auction,  that  the  present  proprietor  and 
a  gentleman  of  rank  in  the  neighbourhood  were  contending  with  emulation  for  the 
possession  of  what  they  well  knew,  especially  from  its  size,  was  a  gabion  of  great 
merit.  This  produced  no  little  amazement  among  the  uninitiated,  of  whom  there 
were  a  considerable  number  present,  when  an  old  woman,  after  a  long  look  at  the 
countenance  first  of  one  bidder  and  then  of  the  other,  at  length  ejaculated  with  a 
sigh,  when  the  contest  was  over :  '  Heigh,  sirs,  the  foundry  wark  must  be  sair  up 
in  Edinburgh,  to  see  the  great  folk  bidding  that  gait  about  a  kale  pot!'  'Aweel,' 
she  added,  in  a  tone  of  submission,  '  it's  needless  for  me  to  wait  for  the  frying-pan  if 
the  kale  pot  is  gaun  to  gae  for  a'  thae  guineas,'  with  which  declaration  the  good  lady 
left  the  auction."  The  same  authority  instructs  us  regarding  Archbishop  Sharp's 
grate :  "  The  chimney  grate  inserted  under  this  ancient  arch  was  the  property  of 
the  celebrated  and  unfortunate  James  Sharp,  created  Primate  of  Scotland  on  the 
revival  of  the  prelacy  after  the  Restoration.  The  prelates  of  the  old  Scottish 
Church  and  a  Presbyterian  of  the  original  leaven  would  give  very  different  interpre- 
tations of  the  emblems  which  can  be  traced  upon  his  chimney  grate.  The  motto  is 
'  FIDES  DONA  SUPERAT,'  illustrated  by  the  figure  of  a  muffled  man ;  that  is,  a  ruffian 
having  his  cloak  so  closely  wrapped  about  him  as  to  disguise  his  features,  who  is 
offering  to  bribe  with  meat  a  mastiff  dog,  which  sturdily  rejects  the  temptation." 
The  headings  represent  respectively:  (i)  design  from  the  back  of  an  antique 
chair  at  Abbotsford ;  (2)  the  carvings  on  the  two  presses  in  the  front  hall  made 
from  Erskine's  pulpit ;  (3)  designs  from  the  wood  carvings  in  the  small  turret  off 
the  study,  familiarly  called  "  Speak  a  bit " ;  and  (4)  the  delicate  stone  carvings 
which  ornament  the  garden  screen.  Of  these,  two  only  perhaps  are  deserving  of 
special  remark.  The  carving  from  the  little  turret  claims  to  be  part  of  Queen 
Mary's  bed,  used  by  her  during  her  visits  to  Jedburgh,  where  the  house 
occupied  by  her  may  still  be  visited,  and  was  no  doubt  the  scene  of  the  Queen's 
dangerous  illness  thus  described  by  Mr.  Hosack  :  "While  the  court  was  still  at 
Jedburgh  (October  1 566)  the  Queen  was  seized  with  a  dangerous  fever,  the  result, 
according  to  the  opinion  of  Maitland,  of  the  continual  vexation  and  anxiety  which 
she  suffered  through  the  perverse  conduct  of  her  husband.  For  more  than  a  week 
her  life  was  in  imminent  peril,  and  she  awaited  the  result  with  characteristic  fortitude 
and  resignation.  She  earnestly  recommended  her  son  to  the  Earl  of  Moray,  and 
exhorted  him  and  his  brother  nobles  to  live  in  peace.  She  declared  her  intention 


xvi  ABBOTSFORD 

of  dying  in  the  religion  in  which  she  had  been  brought  up  ;  and  she  besought 
her  brother  not  to  deal  harshly  with  her  Catholic  subjects  after  she  was 
gone." ' 

The  stone  foliage  from  the  garden  screen  is  copied  from  similar  carvings  at 
Melrose  Abbey,  and  brings  to  our  minds  the  exquisite  descriptions  in  the  Lay  of  the 

Last  Minstrel. 

"  By  foliaged  tracery  combined ; 
Thou  would'st  have  thought  some  fairy's  hand 
'Twixt  poplars  straight  the  ozier  wand 
In  many  a  freakish  knot  had  twined ; 
Then  framed  a  spell,  when  the  work  was  done, 
And  changed  the  willow  wreath  to  stone." 

In  conclusion,  I  would  wish  to  express  my  warm  thanks  for  the  kind  and 
courteous  assistance  I  have  received  from  Mr.  William  Gibb  and  other  friends, 
in  my  endeavour  to  describe  "  Abbotsford  and  its  Treasures." 

M.  M.  MAXWELL  SCOTT. 


Note. — The  references  to  Mr.  Lockhart's  Life  of  Scott  are  applicable  to  the  last  (and  present)  edition 
in  ten  volumes,  which  also  corresponds  with  the  Royal  8vo  edition  in  one  volume. 


1  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  and  her  Accusers,  by  John  Hosack,  vol.  i.  p.  161,  2nd  ed.  (William  Blackwood  and 
Sons).     See  also  Memorials  of  Mary  Stuart,  by  Claude  Nau. 


FROM  BACK  OF  A  CHAIR  AT  ABBOTSFORD 


PLATE     I 

SIR  WALTER   SCOTT'S   DESK  AND   CHAIR 

HE  desk  so  long  used  by  Sir  Walter,  and  "his  own  huge  elbow  chair," 
are  familiar  to  all  who  have  visited  Abbotsford.  It  was  copied  from 
one  at  Rokeby,  as  we  learn  by  the  following  passages  in  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Morritt  which  bears  the  postmark  of  23rd  May  1810  :— 

"  I  have  a  little  commission  for  you  if  you  will  be  kind  enough  to  accept  of  it. 
You  know  I  fell  in  love  with  your  library  table,  and  now  that  the  '  Lady '  has 
put  crowns  into  my  purse  I  would  willingly  treat  myself  to  the  like.  Only  I 
think  I  have  not  much  occasion  for  the  space  which  holds  accompt- books ;  in 
other  respects  it  is  quite  a  model,  and  in  that  respect  I  don't  quarrel  with  it, 
for  why  should  I  not  be  a  rich  man  some  day  and  have  accompt -books?  And 
therefore  I  intrude  so  far  on  your  time  as  to  request  you  when  you  are  taking 
a  walk  to  order  me  such  a  table  as  yours." 

The  desk  cannot  be  better  described  than  in  Mr.  Lockhart's  words.  They 
relate  to  it  as  he  first  saw  it  in  the  "  Den"  in  Castle  Street  in  1818. 

"  The  only  table  was  a  massive  piece  of  furniture  which  he  had  had  constructed 
on  the  model  of  one  at  Rokeby ;  with  a  desk  and  all  its  appurtenances  on  either  side, 
that  an  amanuensis  might  work  opposite  to  him  when  he  chose ;  and  with  small  tiers 
of  drawers,  reaching  all  round  to  the  floor.  The  top  displayed  a  goodly  array  of 
session  papers,  and  on  the  desk  below  were,  besides  the  MS.  at  which  he  was 

i 


2  ABBOTSFORD 

\ 

working,  sundry  parcels  of  letters,  proof-sheets,  and  so  forth,  all  neatly  done  up  with 
red  tape.  His  own  writing  apparatus  was  a  very  handsome  old  box,  richly  carved, 
lined  with  crimson  velvet,  and  containing  ink-bottles,  taper-stand,  etc.,  in  silver,  the 
whole  in  such  order  that  it  might  have  come  from  the  silversmith's  window  half 
an  hour  before." 

And  again  what  can  be  more  pathetic  than  Mr.  Lockhart's  description  of  the 
opening  of  the  desk  on  that  sad  day  fourteen  years  later  ? 

"  But  perhaps  the  most  touching  evidence  of  the  lasting  tenderness  of  Sir 
Walter's  early  domestic  feelings  was  exhibited  to  his  executors  when  they  opened  his 
repositories  in  search  of  his  testament,  the  evening  after  his  burial.  On  lifting  up  his 
desk,  we  found  arranged  in  careful  order  a  series  of  little  objects  which  had  obviously 
been  so  placed  there  that  his  eye  might  rest  on  them  every  morning  before  he  began 
his  tasks.  These  were  the  old-fashioned  boxes  that  had  garnished  his  mother's 
toilette,  when  he,  a  sickly  child,  slept  in  her  dressing-room — the  silver  taper-stand 
which  the  young  advocate  had  bought  for  her  with  his  first  five  guinea  fee — a  row  of 
small  packets  inscribed  with  her  hand,  and  containing  the  hair  of  those  of  her 
offspring  that  had  died  before  her — his  father's  snuff-box  and  etui  case,  and  more 
things  of  the  like  sort,  recalling 

'  The  old  familiar  faces.' " 


PANELS    FROM    ERSKINES    Pl'LPIT 


PLATE     II 

HALL  DOOR   LOOKING   TOWARDS   STUDY  AND 
SHOWING   CORNER  OF   DESK 

N  the  Reliquice  Sir  Walter  thus  describes  this  end  of  the  hall :—"  The 
eastern  end  of  this  room  is  fashioned  into  two  niches,  modelled  in  Paris 
plaster  from  those  splendid  sculptured  niches  which  formerly  held  the 
Saints  and  Apostles  of  the  Abbey  of  Melrose.  These  niches  are  each  of  them 
occupied  by  what  is  very  rarely  seen  in  Scotland,  namely  a  complete  suit  of  feudal 
steel  armour."  1  In  the  hands  of  the  figure  to  the  left  is  placed  "a  sword  nearly  six 
feet  in  length,  and  wielded  with  both  hands.  This  we  must  consider  as  the 
gladius  militis  levis  armatura,  or  the  sword  of  the  light-armed  soldier.  It  was 
with  such  weapons  that  men  in  old  times  fought  at  barriers  or  passes,  in  the 
natural  straits  of  a  mountainous  country,  or  upon  the  breach  of  a  defended  castle. 
They  are  found  mentioned  in  the  wars  of  Switzerland,  and  in  the  feuds  of  the 
Scottish  clans.  The  Scottish  poet  Barbour  gives  a  most  interesting  account  of 
the  successful  defence  made  by  his  hero  (Bruce)  against  the  vassals  of  John  of 
Lorn,  three  of  whom,  armed  with  these  dreadful  weapons,  attacked  the  monarch 
at  once  after  the  rout  of  Dairy,  and  were  all  slain  by  him.2 

i  The  suit  of  armour  is  6  ft.  in  height,  the  sword  6  ft.  7  in.  in  length,  the  blade  3  in.  broad,  the  grip 
20  in.     The  helmet  measures  31  in.  round  at  widest  part. 

2  "  Thai  saw  on  syd  thre  men  cummand, 
Lik  to  lycht  men  and  wanerand  ; 
Swerdis  thai  had,  and  axys  als." 

(Barbour,  The  Bruce,  Book  v.  verse  410.) 


4  ABBOTSFORD 

"  There  are  several  swords  of  the  kind  in  my  small  collection  .  .  .  but  none  of 
them  are  like  that  placed  in  the  grasp  of  the  warrior  of  Bosworth,  which,  to  speak 
the  truth,  may  match  even  with  the  tremendous  blade  of  the  Castle  of  Otranto." 

It  was  through  these  doors  that  Mr.  Lockhart  wheeled  Sir  Walter  for  his  last 
visit  to  the  study,  so  touchingly  described  in  the  Life. 

These  doorways  are  also  connected  with  the  story  of  Lord  Byron's  supposed 
apparition  to  Sir  Walter,  soon  after  his  death.  (August  1827.) 

Those  who  have  seen  Abbotsford  will  remember  that  there  is  at  the  end  of  the 
hall,  opposite  to  the  entrance  of  the  library,  an  arched  doorway  leading  to  other 
rooms.  One  night  some  of  the  party  observed  that,  by  an  arrangement  of  light, 
easily  to  be  imagined,  a  luminous  space  was  formed  upon  the  library  door,  in  which 
the  shadow  of  a  person  standing  in  the  opposite  archway  made  a  very  imposing 
appearance,  the  body  of  the  hall  remaining  quite  dark.  Sir  Walter  had  some  time 
before  told  his  friends  of  the  deception  of  sight  (mentioned  in  his  Demonology)  which 
made  him  for  a  moment  imagine  a  figure  of  Lord  Byron  standing  in  the  same  hall. 
We  quote  Sir  Walter's  words — "  Not  long  after  the  death  of  a  late  illustrious  poet 
who  had  filled,  while  living,  a  great  station  in  the  eye  of  the  public,  a  literary  friend, 
to  whom  the  deceased  had  been  well  known,  was  engaged  during  the  darkening 
twilight  of  an  autumn  evening  in  perusing  one  of  the  publications  which  professed  to 
detail  the  habits  and  opinions  of  the  distinguished  individual  who  was  now  no  more. 
As  the  reader  had  enjoyed  the  intimacy  of  the  deceased  to  a  considerable  degree,  he 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  publication,  which  contained  some  particulars  relating  to 
himself  and  other  friends.  A  visitor  was  sitting  in  the  apartment  who  was  also 
engaged  in  reading.  Their  sitting-room  opened  into  an  entrance -hall,  rather 
fantastically  fitted  up  with  articles  of  armour,  skins  of  wild  animals,  and  the  like.  It 
was  when  laying  down  his  book,  and  passing  into  this  hall,  through  which  the  moon 
was  beginning  to  shine,  that  the  individual  of  whom  I  speak  saw,  right  before  him, 
and  in  a  standing  posture,  the  exact  representation  of  his  departed  friend,  whose 
recollection  had  been  so  strongly  brought  to  his  imagination.  He  stopped  for  a 
single  moment,  so  as  to  notice  the  wonderful  accuracy  with  which  fancy  had 
impressed  upon  the  bodily  eye  the  peculiarities  of  dress  and  posture  of  the  illustrious 
poet.  Sensible,  however,  of  the  delusion,  he  felt  no  sentiment  save  that  of  wonder 
at  the  extraordinary  accuracy  of  the  resemblance,  and  stepped  onwards  towards  the 
figure,  which  resolved  itself,  as  he  approached,  into  the  various  materials  of  which  it 


ABBOTSFORD 


5 


was  composed.  These  were  merely  a  screen,  occupied  by  great-coats,  shawls,  plaids, 
and  such  other  articles  as  usually  are  found  in  a  country  entrance-hall.  The  spectator 
returned  to  the  spot  from  which  he  had  seen  the  illusion,  and  endeavoured  with  all 
his  power  to  recall  the  image  which  had  been  so  singularly  vivid.  But  this  was 
beyond  his  capacity  ;  and  the  person  who  had  witnessed  the  apparition,  or,  more 
properly,  whose  excited  state  had  been  the  means  of  raising  it,  had  only  to  return 
into  the  apartment,  and  tell  his  young  friend  under  what  a  striking  hallucination  he 
had  for  a  moment  laboured."1 

1   Scott's  Prose  Works,  Letters  on  Demonology  and  Witchcraft. 


FAXCU  rttnt  'sreAK  A  BIT' 


PLATE    III 
STAIRCASE   IN   THE   STUDY 

N  the  Reliquiae  Trottcosiana  Sir  Walter  describes  the  study  and  its  stair- 
case as  follows  :— 

"  The  study  is  a  private  apartment  1 6  feet  high,  like  the  others,  20 
feet  long  by  about  14  broad,  with  a  space  of  about  7  feet  in  height  to  the  ceiling 
of  the  apartment,  which  affords  room  for  a  small  gallery  filled  up  with  oaken  shelves 
running  round  three  sides  of  the  study,  and  resting  upon  small  projecting  beams  of 
oak.  The  gallery  and  its  contents  are  accessible  by  a  small  stair,  about  3  feet  in 
breadth,  which  gains  room  to  ascend  in  the  southward  angle  of  the  chamber  and  runs 
in  front  of  the  books,  leaving  such  a  narrow  passage  as  is  sometimes  found  in  front 
of  the  balustrades  of  old  convents,  and  was  certainly  designed  for  the  use  of  the  lay 
brethren  alone.  In  the  south-east  angle  of  the  room  a  small  door  encloses  a  stair- 
case which  leads  about  seven  paces  higher,  and  by  another  private  entrance  reaches 
the  bedroom  story  of  the  house,  and  lands  in  the  proprietor's  dressing-room.  The 
inhabitant  of  the  study,  therefore,  if  unwilling  to  be  surprised  by  visitors,  may  make 
his  retreat  unobserved  by  means  of  this  gallery  to  the  private  staircase  which  unites 
his  study  with  his  bedroom, — a  facility  which  he  has  sometimes  found  extremely 
convenient" 

In  the  bookcase  under  the  stair  may  be  observed  some  of  the  volumes  of  the 
Monileur,  used  for  consultation  by  Sir  Walter  when  he  was  engaged  on  the  Life 
of  Napoleon.  The  chair  called  "  The  Wallace  Chair,"  presented  by  Joseph  Train 
to  Sir  Walter  in  1822,  is  made  from  the  only  remaining  wood  of  the  house  of 


8  ABBOTSFORD 

Robroyston,  the  traditionary  scene  of  betrayal  of  Sir  William  Wallace.  "It  is 
generally  said  that  he  was  made  prisoner  at  Robroyston,  near  Glasgow,  and  the 
tradition  of  the  country  bears  that  the  signal  for  rushing  upon  him  and  taking 
him  unawares  was  when  one  of  his  pretended  friends  who  betrayed  him  should  turn 
a  loaf,  which  was  placed  upon  the  table,  with  its  bottom  or  flat  side  uppermost."1 

1   Tales  of  a  Grandfather,  vol.  i.  p.  55,  Edin.  1836. 


PANEL    FROM    '  SPEAK    A    BIT* 


PLATE     IV 

THE   DINING-ROOM 

HIS  room,  his  "own  great  parlour,"  is  thus  described  by  Sir  Walter: — 
"  The  eating  room  is  a  quiet  apartment ;  not  very  large  indeed,  yet  ample 
enough  for  all  the  common  wants  and  purposes.  The  ceiling  is  not  above 
1 2  feet  in  height,  and  is  apparently  supported  by  ribs  of  carved  oak,  which  neverthe- 
less are  only  stucco,  but  so  ingeniously  moulded  and  painted  and  hid  with  escutcheons 
at  the  places  where  they  cross  each  other,  that  they  can  hardly  be  distinguished  from 
the  more  permanent  material."  ' 

This  apartment  has  for  us  now  a  special  and  solemn  interest,  as  it  was  here  that 
Sir  Walter  died.  When  he  returned  from  his  last  sad  journey,  on  gth  July  1832,  the 
dining-room  was  arranged  as  his  bedroom,  and  although  at  first  he  was  able  to  be 
wheeled  about  the  house,  and  also  out  of  doors,  after  the  i  yth  he  appears  never  to 
have  left  this  room. 

"As  I  was  dressing  on  the  morning  of  the  i;th  of  September,"  writes  Mr. 
Lockhart,  "  Nicolson  came  into  my  room  and  told  me  that  his  master  had  awoke  in 
a  state  of  composure  and  consciousness,  and  wished  to  see  me  immediately.  I  found 
him  entirely  himself,  though  in  the  last  extreme  of  feebleness.  His  eye  was  clear 
and  calm — every  trace  of  the  wild  fire  of  delirium  extinguished.  '  Lockhart,'  he 
said,  '  I  may  have  but  a  minute  to  speak  to  you.  My  dear,  be  a  good  man — be 
virtuous,  be  religious,  be  a  good  man.  Nothing  else  will  give  you  any  comfort  when 
you  come  to  lie  here.'  He  paused,  and  I  said,  'Shall  I  send  for  Sophia  and 

1  Rcliqitice. 


io  ABBOTSFORD 

Anne  ? '  '  No,'  said  he,  '  don't  disturb  them.  Poor  souls !  I  know  they  were  up 
all  night.  God  bless  you  all.'  With  this  he  sank  into  a  very  tranquil  sleep,  and 
indeed,  he  scarcely  afterwards  gave  any  sign  of  consciousness,  except  for  an  instant 
on  the  arrival  of  his  sons.  They,  on  learning  that  the  scene  was  about  to  close, 
obtained  a  new  leave  of  absence  from  their  posts,  and  both  reached  Abbotsford  on 
the  igth.  About  half-past  i  P.M.  on  the  2ist  September  Sir  Walter  breathed  his 
last,  in  the  presence  of  all  his  children.  It  was  a  beautiful  day, — so  warm  that  every 
window  was  wide  open — and  so  perfectly  still  that  the  sound  of  all  others  most 
delicious  to  his  ear,  the  gentle  ripple  of  the  Tweed  over  its  pebbles,  was  distinctly 
audible  as  we  knelt  around  the  bed,  and  his  eldest  son  kissed  and  closed  his  eyes." 

Among  the  flags  placed  in  the  corner  of  the  room  may  be  observed  one  of  dark 
blue  silk,  having  in  gold  letters  "L'Empereur  Napoleon  au  iO5me  Regiment  d'Infanterie 
de  Ligne,"  which  Sir  Walter  probably  acquired  at  the  same  time  as  the  other 
Waterloo  treasures.  There  is  an  interesting  reference  to  its  possible  history  in  a 
letter  of  Colonel  A.  K.  Clark  Kennedy,  relating  to  the  Battle  of  Waterloo,  lately 
published,1  in  which  he  describes  capturing  a  French  Eagle  belonging  to  the  iO5th 
French  Regiment.  "  I  did  not,"  says  the  letter,  "see  the  Eagle  and  the  colours  (for 
there  were  two  colours,  but  only  one  with  an  Eagle)  until  we  had  been  probably 
five  or  six  minutes  engaged."  The  Eagle  and  its  colours  were  taken,  and  the  letter 
proceeds  :  "  What  became  of  the  other  colours  without  the  Eagle  I  know  not,  but  it 
is  rather  singular  that  I  last  autumn  saw  a  dark  blue  silk  flag,  with  the  words  losme 
Regiment  d'Infanterie  de  Ligne  in  gold  letters  upon  it,  in  the  hall  at  Abbotsford  along 
with  other  military  curiosities.  How  it  got  there  I  could  not  learn,  the  present  Sir 
Walter  Scott  telling  me  he  had  no  knowledge  of  how  it  got  into  his  late  father's 
possession,  or  where  it  came  from.  Could  this  have  been  the  very  flag  that  was 
along  with  the  Eagle,  or  was  it  only  a  camp  colour  ?  The  flag  of  the  Eagle  was  red, 
white,  and  blue,  this  is  all  blue." 

1   Waterloo  Letters,  edited  by  Major-General  H.  T.  Siborne,  London  1891,  pp.  75,  76. 


STONE  CARVINGS    KU"M    CAKI)K\   SCKKKN 


PLATE   V 

SIR   WALTER   SCOTT'S   BODY  CLOTHES 
COAT,   WAISTCOAT,    HAT,   AND   WALKING-STICK 

HE  coat  is  of  dark  green  broad-cloth,  with  white  metal  buttons.  It  has  a 
deep,  straight,  turned-down  collar,  and  is  a  "cut  away  coat."  The  cuffs 
are  made  tight  to  button. 

The  waistcoat  is  of  narrow  cream  and  black  stripe  in  silk,  with  yellow  metal 
buttons. 

The  tall  hat  is  a  beaver,  with  flat  brim,  and  of  a  pale  fawn  colour. 

Walking-stick,  with  brown  leather  sheath  on  the  point,  evidently  to  prevent 
slipping  on  the  smooth  floor. 

These  clothes  may  very  probably  be  the  same  as  those  worn  by  Sir  Walter 
when  he  sat  for  his  last  portrait,  a  few  months  before  his  death.  This  little  sketch 
(for  the  young  artist,  Mr.  Edmonstone,  did  not  live  to  paint  the  projected  picture) 
represents  Sir  Walter  seated  in  an  arm-chair.  He  holds  his  stick  in  his  left  hand ; 
his  daughter  Anne,  and  a  young  friend,  Miss  M'Kenzie,  are  also  included  in  the 
drawing.  The  date  "  Rome,  April  23rd,  1832,"  is  written  above,  and  the  artist  has 
also  jotted  down  the  colour  of  the  clothes  worn  by  Sir  Walter  thus :  "  Bottle-green 
coat,  light  waistcoat,  etc." 


PANELS  FROM    '  SPEAK   A    BIT' 


PLATE   VI 

SIR  WALTER  SCOTT'S  PIPES,  SPECTACLES 
AND  CASE,  AND  PAPER-CUTTER 

IR  WALTER'S  pipes  are  finely  coloured  meerschaums,  mounted  in 
silver  and  with  silver  covers.  The  larger  one  has  a  perforated  ornament 
round  the  cover  with  stem  of  cherry  wood  and  cord  and  tassels  of  black 
and  gold.  The  smaller  pipe  has  a  silver  cleaner  attached  by  a  chain,  and  the  initials 
W.  S.  and  Abbotsford  engraved  on  the  cover. 

The  paper-knife  is  of  ivory  with  a  scroll  and  foliage  design  on  one  panel  of  the 
handle.     A  woodland  scene  with  stag  is  carved  on  the  other. 

The  spectacles  are  of  tortoise-shell  with  red  leather  case.     These  gabions  are 
drawn  nearly  full  size. 


FROM    HACK    OF    A    CHAIR    AT   ABUOTSFORD 


PLATE     VII 

PRUNING-KNIFE,   MALLET,  CHISEL,  WHITE  TAIL 
MOUNTED  IN  ANTIQUE  SILVER  HANDLE 

I 

HIS  knife  is  a  strong  double-bladed  knife,  with  deer-horn  handle,  in  length 
6  inches.     It  has  the  following  interesting  story  connected  with  it. 

In  the  autumn  of  1815,  on  his  return  from  France,  Sir  Walter  and 
Mr.  Scott  of  Gala  travelled  together  to  Scotland. 

"  They  spent  a  night  at  Sheffield,  and  early  next  morning  Sir  Walter  sallied 
forth  to  provide  himself  with  a  planter's  knife  of  the  most  complex  contrivance  and 
finished  workmanship.  Having  secured  one  to  his  mind,  and  which  for  many  years 
after  was  his  constant  pocket  companion,  he  wrote  his  name  on  a  card  :  '  Walter 
Scott,  Abbotsford,'  and  directed  it  to  be  engraved  on  the  handle.  On  his  mentioning 
this  acquisition  at  breakfast,  young  Gala  expressed  his  desire  to  equip  himself  in  like 
fashion,  and  was  directed  to  the  shop  accordingly.  When  he  had  purchased  a  similar 
knife,  and  produced  his  name  in  turn  for  the  engraver,  the  master-cutter  eyed  the 
signature  for  a  moment  and  exclaimed,  '  John  Scott  of  Gala.  Well !  I  hope  your 
ticket  may  serve  me  in  as  good  stead  as  another  Mr.  Scott's  has  just  done.  Upon 
my  word,  one  of  my  best  men,  an  honest  fellow  from  the  north,  went  out  of  his 
senses  when  he  saw  it.  He  offered  me  a  week's  work  if  I  would  let  him  keep  it  to 


16  ABBOTSFORD 

himself — and  I  took  Saunders  at  his  word ! '     Scott  used  to  talk  of  this  as  one  of 
the  most  gratifying  compliments  he  ever  received  in  his  literary  capacity."  l 

II 

The  chisel  is  14^  inches  over  all,  the  blade  being  9  in.  long  and  2  in.  at  its 
broadest  part.  The  mallet  and  chisel  are  hung  in  strong  leather  cases  to  a  broad 
strap  and  buckle. 

Ill 

The  white  tail  mounted  in  silver  was  used  by  Sir  Walter  for  dusting  his  books. 
The  handle  is  14  inches  in  length. 

1  Life  (in  10  vols.),  vol.  v.  pp.  88,  89. 


£SSS^C^W 

^i^.^LiSCfe'vS  CT^SV. — j  >-> 


-    - 
TKt^^iA  ^    T>  <i  ~     ^^T^ 


PANELS    FROM    ERSKINES    PULPIT 


PLATE    VIII 
A   PURSE  WORN   BY   SIR  WALTER   SCOTT 

HIS  purse,  which  is  much  worn,  is  made  of  mole-skin  of  a  dark  grey 
colour.  The  clasp  is  silver  with  ornament  in  strong  relief.  The 
outline  of  the  clasp  is  varied  by  curves,  and  there  is  a  double  curve 
at  the  corners.  The  skin  is  fastened  to  the  clasp  by  silver  pins,  and  the  purse 
shuts  with  a  spring  lever  and  catch,  and  is  opened  by  pressing  two  silver  pins 
close  to  the  hinges. 

The  purse  has  two  pockets,  and  is  lined  with  pale  yellow  kid ;  the  central  division 
has  been  renewed  and  bound  with  pale  red  ribbon. 

The  plate  shows  the  purse  both  open  and  shut— both  views  being  drawn  full 

size. 

It  contains  a  piece  of  paper  on  which  is  written  :  "  An  old  purse  worn  by  Sir 
Walter  Scott  for  many  years,  made  of  mole-skin." 


PANELS    FROM    'SPEAK   A    BIT1 


PLATE    IX 
MONTROSE'S   SWORD 

"  I'll  make  thee  glorious  by  my  pen 
And  famous  by  my  sword." — MONTROSE. 

HIS  gabion,  which  we  venture  to  consider  as  perhaps  the  most  precious 
in  Sir  Walter's  collection,  was  given  by  Charles  I.  to  his  faithful  follower. 
Unfortunately  no  record  of  the  gift,  or  of  the  occasion  of  it,  can  be  found 
in  the  history  of  Montrose.  Sir  Walter  himself  tells  us  how  the  sword  came  into  his 
possession.  "  I  have  moreover,"  he  writes,  "a  relic  of  a  more  heroic  character  ;  it  is 
a  sword  which  was  given  to  the  great  Marquis  of  Montrose  by  Charles  I.,  and 
appears  to  have  belonged  to  his  father,  our  gentle  King  Jamie.  It  has  been  pre- 
served for  a  long  time  at  Gartmore,  but  the  present  proprietor  was  selling  his 
library,  or  great  part  of  it,  and  John  Ballantyne  the  purchaser,  wishing  to  oblige  me, 
would  not  conclude  a  bargain  which  the  gentleman's  necessity  made  him  anxious 
about  till  he  flung  the  sword  into  the  scale.  It  is,  independent  of  its  other  merits,  a 
most  beautiful  blade.  I  think  a  Dialogue  between  the  same  sword  and  Rob  Roy's 
gun  might  be  composed  with  good  effect."  • 

This  sword,  fit  emblem  of  the  task  undertaken  by  the  "great  Marquis"  for  his 
royal  master,  suggests  to  us  many  memories  of  the  owner,  that  "  mirror  of  chivalry  " 
of  whom  a  foreign  contemporary 1  says  that  he  was  "  the  only  man  in  the  world  who 
has  ever  realised  to  me  the  ideas  of  certain  heroes  whom  we  now  discover  nowhere 

1  Cardinal  de  Retz. 


20  ABBOTSFORD 

but  in  the  Lives  of  Plutarch,"  and  whom  another  contemporary — a  countryman  of  his 
own — has  thus  affectionately  described  :  "  And  it  cannot  be  denyed  but  he  was  ane 
accomplished  gentleman  of  many  excellent  partes,  a  bodie  not  tall,  but  comely,  and 
well  compossed  in  all  his  liniamentes  ;  his  complexion  meerly  white,  with  flaxin 
haire ;  of  a  stayed,  graue,  and  solide  looke,  and  yet  eyes  sparkling  and  full  of  lyfe ; 
of  speach  slow,  but  wittie  and  full  of  sence ;  a  presence  graitfull,  courtly,  and  so 
winneing  upon  the  beholder,  as  it  seemed  to  claim  reuerence  without  seweing  for  it ; 
for  he  was  so  affable,  so  courteous,  so  bening  as  seemed  verely  to  scorn  ostentation 
and  the  keeping  of  state,  and  therfor  he  quicklie  made  a  conquesse  of  the  heartes 
of  all  his  followers,  so  as  whan  he  list  he  could  haue  lead  them  in  a  chaine  to  haue 
followed  him  with  chearefullnes  in  all  his  interpryses ;  and  I  am  certainely 
perswaded  that  this  his  gratious,  humane,  and  courteous  fredome  of  behaviour 
being  certanely  acceptable  befor  God  as  well  as  men,  was  it  that  wanne  him  so 
much  renovne,  and  inabled  him  chiefly,  in  the  loue  of  his  followers,  to  goe  through 
so  great  interprysses  wheirin  his  equall  had  failled,  although  they  exceeded  him 
farre  in  power,  nor  can  any  other  reason  be  given  for  it  but  only  this.  .  .  . 

"  I  thinke  veralie  he  was  naturally  inclyned  to  humilitie,  courtesie,  gentlenes,  and 
freedome  of  cariage.  He  did  not  seeme  to  affect  state  nor  to  claim  reuerence,  nor  to 
keep  a  distance  with  gentlemen  that  ware  not  his  domestickes ;  but  rather  in  a  noble 
yet  courteouse  way  he  seemed  to  slight  those  vanisheing  smockes  of  greatnes, 
affecting  rather  the  reall  possession  of  men's  heartes  than  the  frothie  and  outward 
showe  of  reuerence ;  and  therefor  was  all  reuerence  thrust  upon  him,  because  all 
did  loue  him,  therfor  all  did  honour  him  and  reuerence  him,  yea,  haueing  once 
acquired  there  heartes,  they  were  readie  not  only  to  honour  him,  but  to  quarrell 
with  any  that  would  not  honour  him ;  and  would  not  spare  their  fortounes,  nor 
derest  blood  about  there  heartes ;  to  the  end  he  might  be  honoured  because  they 
saue  that  he  tooke  the  right  course  to  obtaine  honour.  He  had  fund  furth  the 
right  way  to  be  reuerenced,  and  thereby  was  approued  that  propheticke  maxime 
which  hath  neuer  failed,  nor  neuer  shall  faille,  being  pronounced  by  the  Fountaine 
of  truth."  ("  He  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted.") l 

The  sword  bears  on  both  sides  the  Royal  Arms  of  Great  Britain.  The 
following  inscription  is  also  engraved  on  the  blade— 

1  A  short  abridgement  of  Britane's  Distemper,  etc.,  by  Patrick  Gordon  of  Ruthven,  1639-49,  pp.  76-78. 
(Printed  for  the  Spalding  Club.) 


ABBOTSFORD  21 

JACOBE  ALUMNE  PACIS  ATK  PALLAE 
SERENE  CULTOR  ET  DECUS  BRITANNIC1 
CLARISSIMUM  REGN1  TUIS  REGALIB 
SCEPTRIS  SUBEST  DE  STIRPE  QUOND  MART1A. 

The  sword  measures  about  34  inches  in  length,  the  blade  being  27  and 
the  hilt  7  inches.  The  blade  is  straight  and  two-edged,  beautifully  ornamented ;  the 
hilt,  open  scroll  work  and  silver  gilt ;  the  grip,  bound  with  alternate  chains 
of  silver  and  flat  bands  of  gold.  The  sheath  was  remounted  by  Sir  Walter's 
order  in  1822. 

In  the  drawing  the  sword  is  represented  half  real  size,  with  inscription 
and  arms  full  size. 


PANEL  FROM    'SPEAK   A    BIT' 


PLATE    X 
PAIR  OF  PISTOLS  WHICH  BELONGED  TO  NAPOLEON  I.1 

HESE  pistols  were  taken  from  the  Emperor's  carriage  after  the  Battle  of 
Waterloo.  The  barrels  are  octagonal  and  rifled,  and  enlarge  slightly 
towards  the  muzzle.  They  bear  the  inscription  :  "  Boutel  Directeur 
Artiste,  No.  97.  Manufacture  a  Versailles,"  and  the  letters  "  B.C.  N.B."  The 
barrels  have  five  bands  of  small  gold  dots.  The  stocks  are  cross  hatched  in  panels 
with  fine  lines,  and  all  the  mountings  are  beautifully  engraved  and  enriched  with 
filigree  ornament. 

SIR  WALTER   SCOTT'S   VOLUNTEER   PISTOLS 

The  pair  of  pistols  used  by  Sir  Walter  as  yeoman  in  the  Edinburgh  Volunteer 
Cavalry  are  unrifled  and  bear  the  name  "  D.  Egg,  London."  Also  the  letters 
"G.  R."  and  a  royal  crown.  Butts  obtusely  rounded.  Barrel  9  in.  Stock  8  in. 
Mounted  with  brass. 

PISTOL  WHICH   BELONGED   TO   CLAVERHOUSE 

Claverhouse's  pistol  is  a  fine  old  Highland  pistol,  with  barrel  partly  rounded 
and  partly  octagonal.  It  is  ornamented  with  inlaid  lines  of  gold,  and  bands  and 

i   Mr.  Lockhart  believed  that  these  pistols  were  presented  to  Sir  Walter  by  Col.  the  Hon.  James  Stanhope. 


24  ABBOTSFORD 

plates  of  silver,  finely  chased.     The  butt  of  the  pistol  is  lobated,  and  the  trigger 
ends  in  a  rounded  knob. 

It  is  unfortunately  not  known  how  Claverhouse's  pistol  came  into  Sir  Walter's 
possession,  nor  are  we  aware  of  any  story  connected  with  the  hero  and  this  weapon. 


OLD   PISTOL   BY  CAMPBELL  OF  DOUNE 

This  is  a  fine  old  Highland  pistol  bearing  the  maker's  name,  "John  Campbell, 
Doune."  It  is  of  steel  beautifully  inlaid  with  silver,  and  both  metals  are  elaborately 
engraved.  The  barrel  is  partly  round  and  partly  octagonal,  and  widens  slightly 
towards  the  muzzle.  The  whole  pistol  is  beautifully  chased  with  foliage  and  scroll 
ornament. 

PISTOL  WHICH   BELONGED   TO   SIR   WALTER   SCOTT 

This  pistol  is  one  of  a  pair  which  belonged  to  Sir  Walter.  It  has  an  oval  plate 
inlaid  in  the  stock,  and  bears  his  arms.  The  maker's  name,  "  Macleod,"  is  engraved 
on  the  lock.  The  lower  and  upper  parts  of  the  stock  are  crossed  by  narrow 
bands  of  silver,  separating  panels  beautifully  engraved  with  foliage  in  low  relief. 
The  barrel  is  round  at  the  breech,  but  polygonal,  and  enlarging  slightly  towards 
the  muzzle.  The  stock  has  panels  with  diaper  pattern,  and  the  end  of  trigger  and 
head  of  picker  bear  each  a  cross  in  narrow  bands  of  silver. 


STONK  CARVINGS   FROM   GAROEM   SCREEN 


PLATE    XI 
ENLARGED   DRAWING   OF  ARMOUR   FROM   HALL  DOOR 

HE  description  of  this  gabion  given  by  Sir  Walter  is  so  connected  with 
the  story  of  a  companion  suit  of  armour  that  we  venture  to  give  the 
passage  referring  to  both.      The  cuirass  represented  in  this   drawing 
belongs  to  the  second  in  order  of  description. 

"  The  one  was  designed  for  a  French  knight,  one  of  the  gendarmes  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  He  must  have  been  a  man  considerably  under  the  middle  size,  and  the  suit 
of  armour  exhibits  one  peculiarity  which  will  be  interesting  to  students  of  the  learned 
Dr.  Meyrick.  The  shield,  which  is  very  rarely  the  companion  of  the  suit  of  armour, 
is  not  only  present  in  this  case,  but  secured  in  an  unusual  manner  by  nails,  with  large 
screw  heads,  instead  of  being  hung  round  the  neck,  as  was  common  during  'a 
career,'  the  hands  being  thus  left  free,  the  right  to  manage  the  lance,  the  left  to  hold 
the  horse's  bridle.  To  complete  this  suit  of  armour  a  lance  is  placed  in  one  hand 
exactly  after  the  measure  of  one  in  Dr.  Meyrick's  collection.  In  the  other  hand  is  a 
drawn  sword,  which  is  carved  over  with  writing,  and  contrived  so  as  to  keep  a  record 
of  the  days  of  the  Catholic  saints.  In  a  word,  it  is  a  calendar  to  direct  the  good 
knight's  devotions.  The  other  suit  of  armour,  which  is  also  complete  in  all  its  parts, 
was  said  when  it  came  into  my  possession  to  have  belonged  to  a  knight  who  took 
arms  upon  Richmond's  side  at  the  field  of  Bosworth,  and  died,  I  think,  of  his  wounds 
there.  If  one  were  disposed  to  give  him  a  name,  the  size  of  his  armour  might 
suggest  that  he  was  Sir  John  Cheney,  the  biggest  man  of  both  armies  on  that 
memorable  day.  I  venture  to  think — for  I  feel  myself  gliding  into  the  prosy  style  of 

4 


26  ABBOTSFORD 

an  antiquarian,  disposed  in  sailor  phrase  to  spin  a  tough  yarn — I  venture  to  think 
that  the  calendar  placed  in  the  hand  of  the  little  French  knight  originally  belonged 
to  the  gigantic  warrior  of  Bosworth  Field.  I  imagine  it  was  withdrawn  for  the 
purpose  of  supplying  its  place  with  a  noble  specimen  of  the  sword  of  the  Swiss 
mountaineers." 

The  cuirass  measures  47  in.  round  the  chest  and  37  in.  round  the  waist. 

1   In  the  drawing  the  calendar  sword  is  placed  in  the  warriors  hand  according  to  Sir  Walter's  suggestion. 


I'ANEI.S    KROM    '  SPEAK    A    BIT1 


PLATE    XII 
NAPOLEON'S   PEN-CASE  AND   BLOTTING-BOOK 

APOLEON'S  pen-case  is  a  small  box,  oblong  in  shape,  i^  inch  in 
width  by  8  inches  in  length,  and  i  inch  in  depth.  It  is  covered  with 
green  silk  velvet,  lined  with  green  satin.  On  the  top  is  the  initial  N  in 
gold  wire  surrounded  by  a  laurel  wreath.  The  sides  of  the  box  are  ornamented  with 
a  double  line  of  flat  gold  ribbon  (or  lace)  crossed  by  the  gold  wire.  It  contains  a 
stick  of  red  sealing-wax  partly  used,  and  a  paper  with  the  following  lines: — "This 
sealing-wax  was  left  by  Napoleon  on  his  writing-table  in  the  Palace  of  the  Elysee 
Bourbon  the  morning  he  fled  from  Paris,  after  the  Cent  Jours,  in  1815,  probably  the 
last  he  used  as  Emperor.  Given  to  Vis*s  Hampden  by  Mme  La  Dnckesse  de  Gontaut, 
With  Lady  Hampden's  compts.  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  July  1829." 

The  little  paper  in  the  pen-box  tells  the  story  of  the  sealing-wax,  but  whether 
the  case  itself  was  found  at  the  Elysee  Bourbon  is  uncertain.  It  would  appear  to 
belong  to  the  same  writing-set  as  the  blotting- book  described  below.  In  connection 
with  Napoleon's  melancholy  residence  at  the  Elysee  Bourbon  after  his  great  defeat, 
and  during  the  last  days  of  his  liberty,  Lt.-Colonel  Charras,  in  his  Histoire  de  la 
Campagne  de  1815,  makes  the  following  interesting  remarks  :— 

"  At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  Napoleon  had  arrived  .  .  .  not  at  the  Tuileries, 
but  at  the  Elysee  Bourbon,  as  if  he  had  realised  that  defeat  closed  for  him  the 
brilliant  palace  where  his  vanity  had  so  delighted  in  exhibiting  all  the  pomp  of  the 
monarchy  of  Louis  XIV.,"  and  again  :  "After  having  allowed  an  unwilling  abdication 
to  be  extorted  from  him,  he  had  remained  in  close  retirement  in  the  Palace  of  the 
Elysee  Bourbon.  ..."  After  waiting  for  three  days  in  the  vain  hope  that  his  crown 


28  ABBOTSFORD 

might  be  again  offered  him,  "  he  was  obliged  to  cede  to  the  injunctions,  little  softened 
in  form,  which  Fouche  sent  him,  expressing  the  will  of  the  Chambers ;  and  he 
established  himself  at  Malmaison,  his  former  residence,  the  residence  of  the  First 
Consul,  and  of  the  victor  of  Marengo  ! !  " 

Napoleon's  blotting-book — 10^  inches  long  by  8^  and  i  inch  thick — is  covered 
with  the  same  coloured  green  silk  velvet  as  the  pen-case,  and  lined  with  the  same 
satin.  It  is  tied  with  three  pairs  of  greenish-blue  ribbons,  fringed  with  gold  beads, 
and  passing  through  a  hollow  ball  of  gold  filigree  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  tassel.  The 
same  ribbon  passes  down  the  back  to  form  a  holder  for  the  blotting-paper,  but  is  now 
torn. 

Both  sides  are  alike  ornamented  with  the  initial  N  in  the  centre,  surmounted  by 
an  imperial  crown,  and  having  beneath  it  a  semicircular  wreath  of  laurel.  There  are 
bees  in  each  corner,  and  scrolls  of  carved  foliage  are  joined  in  pairs  by  rosette  or 
sunflower  ornaments  in  the  centre  of  each  side.  The  extreme  corners  have  four  of 
the  same  ornaments  slightly  modified  in  form,  and  the  whole  is  surrounded  by  a 
border  of  the  flat  lace  bound  down  at  intervals  by  triple  lines,  and  having  the  corners 
ornamented  by  a  trefoil.  The  whole  elaborate  embroidery  is  in  different  forms  of 
gold  wire. 

The  tradition  regarding  this  gabion  is  that  it  was  found  in  Napoleon's  carriage 
after  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  There  are  various  interesting  references  to  the 
Emperor's  carriage  and  its  contents  in  the  annals  of  Waterloo ;  and,  although  the 
portfolio  is  not  mentioned,  we  venture  to  quote  from  them.  Colonel  Charras  and 
Blticher  himself  both  allude  to  the  subject!  The  former  says  that  "  a  considerable 
number  of  artillery  carriages  and  others  were  taken  by  the  Prussians  at  and  near 
Genappe,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  equipages  belonging  to  the  generals  of 
Napoleon  and  his  suite,  and  the  carriage  itself  in  which  he  had  come  from  Paris, 
which  had  escaped  in  the  disasters  of  Russia,  and  contained  clothes  and  a  sword 
belonging  to  the  vanquished."  * 

Blticher,  writing  to  his  wife,  uses  words  to  this  effect : — 

"GossuER,  June  2$//i,  1815. 
"  Napoleon  got  off  in  the  night  without  hat  or  sword.     His  hat  and  sword  I 

1  Fleury  de  Chaboulon  says  that  there  was  also  in  the  carriage  "  the  superb  diamond  necklace  that  the 
Princess  Borghese  (Pauline  Bonaparte)  had  given  to  Napoleon."     What  became  of  it  we  know  not. 


ABBOTSFORD  29 

send  to-day  to  the  king.  His  extremely  rich  mantle  of  state  and  /it's  carriti^c  are  in 
my  hands,  and  I  also  possess  his  field-glass,  through  which  he  looked  at  us  on  the 
day  of  the  battle  ; '  the  carriage  I  will  send  you,  only  it  is  a  pity  that  it  is  injured  .... 
he  was  about  to  retreat  in  his  carriage,  and  when  he  was  surprised  by  my  troops,  he 
jumped  out,  threw  himself  on  horseback  without  his  sword,  when  his  hat  tumbled 
off.  .  .  .'' 

The  portfolio  contains  a  small  packet  of  Napoleon's  hair  accompanied  by  the 
following  letter  addressed  to  Mrs.  Hughes,3  Rev.  Dr.  Hughes,  Amen  Corner,  St. 
Paul's  :- 

NETHKR  HALL, 

Nov.  8///,  1827. 
MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

I  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  afforded  me  by  Miss  Hyde's  going  to 
town  to  send  an  article  of  some  curiosity  which  I  wish  to  present,  through  you,  to 
Sir  Walter  Scott.  It  is  a  small  piece  of  Buonaparte's  hair.  I  came  by  it  in  the 
following  manner.  My  friend  Captain  Haviside  was  the  bearer  of  certain  presents 
from  Mr.  Elphinstone,  a  gentleman  filling  a  high  official  situation  in  China,  to  the 
exiled  Emperor,  who  had  on  some  occasion  shown  either  polite  or  humane  attentions 
—I  believe  the  latter — to  Mr.  Elphinstone's  brother,  an  officer  in  the  British  army. 
On  leaving  these  presents  at  St.  Helena,  Captain  Haviside  obtained  a  pass  for 
Longwood,  and  went  there  for  the  express  purpose  of  having  an  audience  of  the 
Emperor.  He,  the  Emperor,  was  ill  and  could  not  receive  him,  but  he  was  enter- 
tained by  his  suite,  and  Mme.  Bertrand  gave  him  a  small  quantity  of  the  Emperor's 
hair,  which  she  had  obtained  from  his  valet  a  few  days  before.  This  quantity,  small 
originally,  has  diminished  hair  by  hair,  to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  the  officers  of  the 
ship,  until  the  portion  I  now  send  you  was  all  that  remained.  I  am  sorry  it  is  so 
small,  but  it  is  all  I  have ;  and  if  you  do  not  think  Sir  Walter  will  be  offended  by 
the  liberty  I  take  in  offering  it  to  him,  I  shall  be  much  obliged  if  you  will  present 

1  "  Napoleon  had  hitherto  maintained  his  usual  serenity  of  aspect,  on  the  heights  of  La  Belle  Alliance. 
He  watched  the  English  onset  with  his  spy-glass— became  suddenly  pale  as  death— exclaimed,  'They  are 
mingled  together— all  is  lost  for  the  present,'  and  rode  off  the  field."     History  of  Napoleon  Buonaparte,  by  J.  G. 
Lockhart,  p.  320.     London,  John  Murray,  1835. 

2  Bliicher,  Briefe  aus  den  Feldziigcn  1813-1815.     Herausgegeben  von  E.  von  Colomb,  Stuttgart,  1876. 

3  Mrs.  Hughes  was  a  friend  of  Sir  Walter's.     She  was  introduced  to  him  in  1807  by  Mrs.  Hayman,  Privy- 
Purse  to  Queen  Caroline. 


30  ABBOTSFORD 

it  to  him  in  .my  name.  I  would  that  I  had  some  more  valuable  offering  by  which  I 
could  testify  my  gratitude  for  the  many  hours  of  delight  he  has  afforded  me  ;  and  yet, 
feeling  as  I  do  that  I  am  already  more  than  repaid  for  this  or  anything  I  could  give 
him,  I  still  crave  something  in  return,  and  that  something  is  an  acknowledgment  of 
the  receipt  of  my  trifle  in  his  own  handwriting.  I  shall  value  it  more  than  the  hair, 
or  even  than  the  head  of  any  emperor  that  ever  existed.  With  my  best  regards  to 
Dr.  Hughes,  believe  me  to  remain,  dear  Madam,  very  sincerely  yours, 

R.  DALTON. 

P.S. — O'Meara's  book  contains  an  account  of  Captain  Haviside's  visit,  but  it  is 
false  throughout.  A  pass  to  Longwood  was  given  to  Captain  Haviside  by  Sir  H. 
Lowe  without  hesitation,  and  without  any  caution  or  condition  whatever  being 
annexed. 


FROM    BACK   OF  A  CHAIR   AT   ABDOTSFORD 


PLATE   XIII 
WATERLOO   CUIRASSES  AND   SWORD 

"  My  steel-clad  cuirasseers  advance, 
Each  Hulan  forward  with  his  lance, 
My  guard — my  chosen, — charge  for  France, 
France  and  Napoleon. 

Rushed  on  the  ponderous  cuirasseer, 
The  lancer  couched  his  ruthless  spear, 
And  hurrying  as  to  havoc  near 

The  cohorts'  eagles  flew." 

(The  Field  of  Waterloo.— SIR  W.  SCOTT.) 

HESE  spoils  from  Napoleon's  army  were  secured  by  Sir  Walter  on  the 
occasion  of  his  visit  to  the  field  of  Waterloo.  In  Major  Pryse  Gordon's 
account  of  this  visit  he  tells  us  that  "when  Sir  Walter  had  examined 
every  point  of  defence  and  attack,  we  adjourned  to  the  '  Original  Duke  of 
Wellington '  at  Waterloo,  to  lunch  after  the  fatigues  of  the  ride.  Here  we  had 
a  crowded  levee  of  peasants,  and  collected  a  great  many  trophies,  from  cuirasses 
down  to  buttons  and  bullets." 

We  also  find  references  to  the  cuirasses  both  in  the  Reliquice  and  in  Paul's 
Letters.  In  the  former,  Sir  Walter,  in  describing  the  hall,  says  :  "  Before  I  quit  the 
hall,  I  ought  to  say  that  the  end  on  the  west,  or  left  side  of  the  entrance,  is  garnished 
with  spoils  from  the  field  of  Waterloo,  where  I  collected  them  in  person,  very 


32  ABBOTSFORD 

shortly  after  that  memorable  action.  There  are  two  or  three  cuirasses  both  of  brass 
and  steel.  The  cuirasses  of  the  former  metal  are  become  very  rare  because  they 
were  at  once  knocked  to  pieces  by  the  peasantry,  who  could  sell  the  copper  of  which 
they  were  made  at  so  much  a  pound.  The  belts,  swords,  and  axes  of  the  train  are 
also  come  to  anchor  in  this  whimsical  place." 

In  Paul's  Letters  Sir  Walter  enters  into  further  details  as  follows  :  "The  great 
object  of  ambition  was  to  possess  the  armour  of  a  cuirasseer,  which  at  first  might 
have  been  bought  in  great  quantity,  almost  all  the  wearers  having  fallen  in  that 
bloody  battle — the  victors  have  indeed  carried  off  some  of  these  cuirasses,  to  serve 
as  culinary  vessels,  and  I  myself  have  seen  the  Highlanders  frying  their  rations  of 
beef  or  mutton  upon  the  breast-plates  and  back-pieces  of  their  discomfited  adversaries. 
But  enough  remained  to  make  the  fortunes  of  the  people  of  St.  John,  Waterloo, 
Planchenoit,  etc.  When  I  was  at  La  Belle  Alliance  I  bought  the  cuirass  of  a  common 
soldier  for  about  6  francs,  but  a  very  handsome  inlaid  one,  once  the  property  of  a 
French  officer  of  distinction,  which  was  for  sale  in  Brussels,  cost  me  four  times  that 
sum.  As  for  the  casques,  or  head-pieces,  which  by  the  way  are  remarkably  handsome, 
they  are  almost  introuvable.  For  the  peasants  almost  immediately  sold  them  to  be 
beat  out  for  old  copper  ;  and  the  purchaser,  needlessly  afraid  of  their  being  reclaimed, 
destroyed  them  as  fast  as  possible." 

The  steel  cuirass  measures  3  feet  2  inches  round  the  waist,  and  3  feet 
6^  inches  round  the  chest. 

The  brass  cuirass  is  3  feet  3^  inches  round  waist,  3  feet  6J  inches  round  chest. 

The  sword-blade  measures  38  inches  in  length,  the  breadth  at  hilt  \\  inch, 
and  the  hilt  itself  6|  inches.  The  grip  is  covered  with  black  leather  bound  with 
brass  wire.  The  guard  is  formed  of  flat  brass  bands. 

The  helmet  measures  16  inches  in  height,  and  8  inches  from  back  to  front.  The 
upper  half  of  the  helmet  is  of  bright  steel,  with  the  crest  in  brass,  and  is  highly 
ornamented  at  the  side  with  foliage  and  fluting.  The  horse-hair  plume  is  about 
2  feet  in  length. 


.1!^^:^ 


pQ  O        -.    1     •        O        •   .  O 


PANELS   FROM    ERSKINE's    PULPIT 


PLATE  XIV 
QUEEN   MARY'S   SEAL 

HIS  ornament,  commonly  called  Queen  Mary's  Seal,  is  in  silver-gilt, 
decorated  with  foliage  and  shell  work  in  high  relief.  It  is  3  inches 
high  by  i  J  inch  broad,  and  forms  a  double  box,  of  which  the  upper  half 
was  possibly  used  as  a  vinaigrette.  The  base  is  engraved  with  a  crowned  shield 
bearing  the  ruddy  lion  of  Scotland  and  the  initials  M.  R. 


TRICOLOURED   COCKADE 

The  cockade,  which  is  drawn  full  size,  is  made  of  a  straight  piece  of  broad  ribbon 
striped  in  red,  white,  and  blue,  drawn  together  in  the  centre  so  as  to  form  a  rosette. 
The  tricolour,  emblematic  of  the  great  Revolution,  was  designed  by  General  Lafayette, 
and  was  at  first  the  badge  of  the  National  Guard.  These  colours  were  adopted  by 
France  as  the  national  colours  in  1 789.  Red  and  blue  were  selected  as  the  arms  of 
Paris,  and  the  white  was  added  as  the  colour  of  the  monarchy  and  the  army,  and  to 
show  the  intimate  union  which  should  exist  between  the  people  and  the  armed  force. 

It  is  probable  that  Sir  Walter  brought  this  gabion  back  from  France  in  1815. 
As  illustrating  the  use  of  the  tricolour  by  one  of  Napoleon's  old  soldiers  we  quote 
the  following  amusing  paragraph  from  Sir  Walter's  account  of  his  visit  to  Valenciennes 
in  the  same  year. 

"  There  was,  however,  in  the  air  and  eye  of  the  soldiers  of  Buonaparte  (for  such 
these  military  men  still  call  themselves)  something  of  pride  and  self-elation,  that 

5 


34  ABBOTSFORD 

indicated  undaunted  confidence  in  their  own  skill  and  valour.  They  appeared, 
however,  disunited  and  disorganised.  Some  wore  the  white  cockade,  others  still 
displayed  the  tricolour,  and  one  prudent  fellow  had,  for  his  own  amusement  and  that 
of  his  comrades,  stuck  both  in  his  hat  at  once,  so  as  to  make  a  cocarde  de  convenance, 
which  might  suit  either  party  that  should  get  uppermost." 


PURSE   GIVEN  TO   SIR  WALTER   SCOTT   BY 
JOANNA   BAILLIE 

This  purse,  made  by  the  poetess  for  Sir  Walter,  is  netted  in  thick  red  silk.  It 
has  a  silver  clasp  with  grotesque  figures  in  high  relief.  A  thistle  projects  from  the 
top  of  the  clasp  and  forms  part  of  the  spring  catch.  The  purse  is  finished  by  a 
tassel  of  silver  chains,  ending  with  small  flat  plates  which  are  fastened  into  a  silver 
cup-shaped  end. 

As  is  well  known,  a  long  and  intimate  friendship  subsisted  between  Sir  Walter 
and  the  amiable  and  gifted  Joanna  Baillie,  whose  dramatic  poems  he  greatly  admired. 
Miss  Baillie  was  born  at  the  Manse  of  Bothwell  in  1762,  and  lived  to  a  great  age, 
dying  in  1851.  She  was  sister  of  the  well-known  Dr.  Matthew  Baillie.  In  order  to 
be  near  him  Miss  Baillie  and  her  sister  Agnes  settled  in  London,  where  their  cottage 
at  Hampstead  became  the  centre  of  a  brilliant  literary  society.  In  1798  Joanna 
published  her  first  volume  of  the  Plays  on  the  Passions.  These  Plays,  intended  to 
depict  the  passions  of  Fear,  Hate,  Jealousy,  and  Love,  both  in  tragedy  and  comedy, 
were  destined  for  the  stage,  and  the  "  Family  Legend  "  was  brought  out  in  Edinburgh 
under  Sir  Walter's  enthusiastic  patronage  and  enjoyed  a  brilliant  if  brief  success. 
In  London  also,  another  of  Miss  Baillie's  plays,  "  De  Montford,"  acted  by  Mrs. 
Siddons  and  Kemble,  had  a  short  run.  It  is,  however,  probable  that  her  fame  will 
depend  chiefly  on  her  lesser  poems  and  songs,  of  which  she  has  left  some  of  great 
beauty.  The  purse  is  mentioned  in  two  of  Sir  Walter's  letters  to  the  poetess  in  the 
following  manner.  Before  receiving  it  Sir  Walter  writes  : 

"  The  promise  of  the  purse  has  flattered  my  imagination  so  very  agreeably  that  I 
cannot  help  sending  you  an  ancient  silver  mouth-piece,  to  which,  if  it  pleases  your 
taste,  you  may  adapt  your  intended  labours ;  this,  besides,  is  a  genteel  way  of  tying 


ABBOTSFORD  35 

you  down  to  your  promise  :  and  to  bribe  you  still  further,  I  assure  you  it  shall  not  be 
put  to  the  purpose  of  holding  bank-notes  or  vulgar  bullion,  but  reserved  as  a  place  of 
deposit  for  some  of  my  pretty  little  medals  and  nicknackatories."  And  when  the  gift 
has  duly  been  made  and  sent  to  him,  he  thus  acknowledges  it :"  1812.  I  ought  not, 
even  in  modern  gratitude,  which  may  be  moved  by  the  gift  of  a  purse,  much  less  in 
minstrel  sympathy,  which  values  it  more  as  your  work  than  if  it  were  stuffed  with 
guineas,  to  have  delayed  thanking  you,  my  kind  friend,  for  such  an  elegant  and 
acceptable  token  of  your  regard. 

"  My  kindest  and  best  thanks  also  attend  the  young  lady  who  would  not  permit 
the  purse  to  travel  untenanted.1  I  have  a  great  mind,  before  sealing  this  long  scrawl, 
to  send  you  a  list  of  the  contents  of  the  purse  as  they  at  present  stand. 

"  ist.  Miss  Elizabeth  Baillie's  purse-penny,  called  by  the  learned  a  denarius  of 
the  Empress  Faustina. 

"  and.  A  gold  brooch  found  in  a  bog  in  Ireland,  which  for  aught  I  know  fastened 
the  mantle  of  an  Irish  princess  in  the  days  of  Cathullia,  or  Neal  of  the  Nine 
Hostages. 

"  3rd.  A  loadstone 2 — a  celebrated  amulet  which  was  never  lent  to  any  one  unless 
upon  a  bond  for  a  thousand  marks  for  its  being  safely  restored.  It  was  sovereign  for 
protecting  new-born  children  and  their  mothers  from  the  power  of  the  fairies,  and  has 
been  repeatedly  borrowed  from  my  mother  on  account  of  this  virtue. 

"4th.  A  coin  of 'Edward  I.  found  in  Dryburgh  Abbey. 

"  5th.  A  funeral  ring  with  Dean  Swift's  hair, — so  you  see  my  nicknackatory  is 
well  supplied,  though  the  purse  is  more  valuable  than  all  its  contents." 

1  The  purse  contained  an  old  coin  from  Joanna  Baillie's  niece,  the  daughter  of  the  Doctor. 
2  See  Plate  XXI.  for  drawing  of  Amulet. 


PANBLS   FROM   '  SPEAK   A   BIT' 


PLATE  XV 

"  Hark  the  bagpipe's  fitful  wailing, 
Not  the  pibroch  loud  and  shrill, 
But  a  dirge  both  low  and  solemn 
Fit  for  ears  of  dying  men 
Marshalled  for  their  latest  battle 
Never  more  to  fight  again." 

(Charles  Edward  at  Versailles. — AYTOUN.) 

"  Last  noon  beheld  them  full  of  lusty  life 

The  earth  is  covered  thick  with  other  clay 
Which  her  own  clay  shall  cover  heaped  and  pent ; 
Rider  and  horse,  friend,  foe, — in  one  red  burial  blent." 

(Childe  Harold.) 

SOLDIER'S   MEMORANDUM   BOOK  FOUND   ON  THE 

FIELD   OF  WATERLOO 

PIECE   OF  OAT-CAKE   FOUND   IN  THE   POCKET  OF  A 
DEAD  HIGHLANDER  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  CULLODEN 

HESE  pathetic  records  of  two  famous  battlefields,  while  very  different 
from  each  other,  seem  to  be  united  by  a  common  interest.     Each  bears 
witness  to  the  fidelity,  even  to  death,  of  its  owner,  and  each  reminds  us 
of  a  fatal  day  in  the  annals  of  a  great  dynasty. 

How  the  interesting  little  memorandum  book  came  into  Sir  Walter's  possession 
we  learn  by  the  following   passage  in  Paul's  Letters  (p.   199).     Speaking  of  the 


38  ABBOTSFORD 

smaller  "  reliques  of  the  fray "  which  still  strewed  the  field  of  battle  he  says : 
"Among  the  last,  those  of  most  frequent  occurrence  were  the  military  livrels,  or 
memorandum  books  of  the  French  soldiers.  I  picked  up  one  of  these,  which 
shows  by  its  order  and  arrangement  the  strict  discipline  which  at  one  time  was 
maintained  in  the  French  army,  when  the  soldier  was  obliged  to  enter  in  such  an 
accompt-book  not  only  the  state  of  his  pay  and  equipments,  but  the  occasions 
on  which  he  served  and  distinguished  himself,  and  the  punishments,  if  any, 
which  he  had  incurred.  At  the  conclusion  is  a  list  of  the  duties  of  the  private 
soldier,  amongst  which  is  that  of  knowing  how  to  dress  his  victuals  and 
particularly  to  make  good  soup.  The  livret  in  my  possession  appears  to  have 
belonged  to  the  Sieur  Mallet,  of  the  2nd  battalion  of  the  8th  Regiment  of  the 
Line;  he  had  been  in  the  service  since  the  year  1791  until  the  i8th  of  June 
1815,  which  day  probably  closed  his  account,  and  with  it  all  his  earthly  hopes 
and  prospects." 

Measurements  of  the  Waterloo  Book— 4^  inches  by  6f  inches. 

If  the  Sieur  Mallet  went  forth  to  fight  with  all  the  "pomp  and  majesty  of 
war,"  our  Scotch  hero  had  to  encounter  not  only  the  enemies  of  his  Prince,  but 
another  foe  against  whom  no  bravery  will  avail.  How  nearly  absolute  starvation  was 
the  fate  of  Prince  Charlie's  followers  the  following  account  tells  us,  and  the  poor 
little  piece  of  oat-cake  serves  perhaps  to  illustrate  the  fact.  "  So  scarce  was  food  at 
this  critical  juncture,  that  the  Prince  himself,  on  retiring  to  Culloden  House,  could 
obtain  no  better  refreshment  than  a  little  bread  and  whisky.  He  felt  the  utmost 
anxiety  regarding  his  men,  among  whom  the  pangs  of  hunger  upon  bodies  exhausted 
by  fatigue  must  have  been  working  effects  most  unpromising  to  his  success ;  and 
he  gave  orders,  before  seeking  any  repose,  that  the  whole  county  should  now  be 
mercilessly  ransacked  for  the  means  of  refreshment.  His  orders  were  not  without 
effect.  Considerable  supplies  were  procured,  and  subjected  to  the  cooks'  art  at 
Inverness,  but  the  poor  famished  clansmen  were  destined  never  to  taste  these 
provisions,  the  hour  of  battle  arriving  before  they  were  prepared." * 

The  piece  of  oat-cake  is  made  of  coarsely  ground  oatmeal,  and  wrapped 
carefully  in  a  piece  of  paper,  with  the  following  words  written  on  it — 

"  A  piece  of  cake  found  in  a  Highlander's  pocket  on  the  field  of  Culloden  the  day 
of  the  battle.  R.  CHAMBERS." 

1  Chambers,  Hist,  of  Rebellion  in  Scotland,  1745,  1746,  vol.  ii.  pp.  81,  82. 


PANEL   FROM    '  SPEAK    A    HIT 


PLATE   XVI 
ANCIENT   BRONZE   MASK 

HE  mask  is  n  inches  in  length  and  6£  broad,  the  horns  being  18  inches 
in  length.  The  ornament  is  in  high  relief,  and  very  beautiful.  This 
curious  gabion  was  given  to  Sir  Walter  by  Joseph  Train.  We  are 
indebted  to  the  Rev.  Father  Forbes  Leith  for  the  following  interesting  particulars 
regarding  it. 

"  This  mask  is  made  of  fine  copper  richly  ornamented,  and  is  constructed  so  as 
to  cover  the  face  of  the  wearer,  having  two  long  horns  which  bend  backwards  and 
downwards.  The  bronze  measures  10^  inches  in  total  length.  It  was  found  in  a 
morass,  on  the  farm  of  Torrs,  in  the  parish  of  Kelton,  Galloway,  about  the  year 
1820.  It  belongs  in  all  probability  to  the  later  Celtic  period  of  our  history.  It  is 
probably  not  more  ancient  than  the  introduction  of  coinage  into  Britain,  from  200  to 
100  years  B.C.,  and  not  much  later  than  the  close  of  the  first  century  after  Christ, 
when  the  Roman  dominion  in  this  country  was  firmly  established. 

"  This  peculiar  bronze  relic  would  appear  to  be  almost  unique  in  character.  It 
was  found  in  a  district  of  Scotland  where  the  Celtic  element  was  largely  developed 
among  its  inhabitants. 

"It  seems  that  it  was  intended  to  be  used  as  part  of  some  ornamental  head- 
dress of  a  man.  The  heads  of  various  animals,  we  know,  have  been  used  as 
decorations  for  head -pieces  or  helmets.  The  horns  of  cows  as  well  as  goats 
appear  to  have  been  worn  by  some  of  the  Greeks." 


40  ABBOTSFORD 

A   STEEL   SKULL-CAP  WITH   GUARD   OF   VERY   FINE 

CHAIN   MAIL 

The  cap  is  6^  inches  in  diameter.  Its  history  appears  to  be  unknown.  The* 
mail  guard,  however,  would  seem  to  be  similar  to  those  described  by  Auguste 
Demmin  in  his  Weapons  of  War.  "  The  coat  of  mail  (from  the  German  Kutte], 
which  preceded  the  armour  composed  of  plates  either  of  leather  or  steel,  was 
called  hauberk  (from  the  German  Halsberge,  neck -protector).  .  .  .  The  small 
hauberk  was  worn  by  all  knights  in  the  eighth  century." 


THE   BRANKS 

A  facsimile  model  of  the  branks  or  bridle  preserved  in  St.  Mary's  Church, 
St.  Andrews. 

This  instrument,  which  is  said  to  derive  its  name  from  the  Gaelic  brangus,  an 
instrument  for  punishing  petty  offences,  was  formerly  used  for  the  correction  of 
scolds  in  England  and  Scotland.  In  England  it  was  often  termed  the  "Scold's,  or 
Gossip's,  bridle,"  and  appears  to  have  taken  the  place  of  the  ducking-stool.  It  is, 
however,  said  to  be  of  Scotch  origin,  and  was  used  in  Scotland  in  the  i6th  century 
some  fifty  years  before  it  appears  to  have  been  known  in  England.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  the  branks  was  ever  a  legalised  instrument  of  punishment,  although 
corporations  and  lords  of  the  manor  in  England,  and  town  councils,  kirk- 
sessions,  and  barony  courts  in  Scotland,  exercised  the  right  of  inflicting  it.  While 
men  were  put  in  the  stocks  or  pillory,  women  wore  the  branks  for  such  petty  offences 
as  are  now  termed  breaches  of  the  peace. 


STONE   CAKVIM.s    H«>M    GAI 


PLATE   XVII 
PRINCE   CHARLIE'S   QJLJAIGH 

RINCE  CHARLIE'S  quaigh  is  of  oak,  bound  round  by  seven  hoops,  and 
mounted  in  plain  bands  of  silver  at  top  and  bottom.     It  has  the  usual 
two  small  handles,  but  the  bottom  of  the  quaigh  is  of  glass.     On  the 
upper  rim  of  silver  are  the  letters  P.  C.  and  on  the  lower  is  the  following  inscription  : 
"This  quaigh  was  presented  in  1745  by  Prince  Charles  to  Campbell  of  Kinloch,  one 
of  his  followers,  whose  widow  gave  it  to  Mrs.  Stewart  of  Stenton,  by  whom  it  was 
gifted  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Bart,  in  1825."     The  quaigh  measures  2  inches  in  height 
by  2  inches  in  diameter  at  the  mouth,  and  if  at  the  base.     This  quaigh  was  much 
valued  by  Sir  Walter,  and  constantly  used  by  him.     "  I  should  not  omit,  however," 
writes  Mr.  Lockhart,  "  that  his  Bordeaux  was  uniformly  preceded  by  a  small  libation 
of  his  genuine  mountain  dew,  which  he  poured  with  his  own  hand,  more  majorum,  for 
each  guest,  making  use  for  the  purpose  of  such  a  multifarious  collection  of  ancient 
Highland  quaighs  (little  cups  of  curiously  dovetailed  wood  inlaid  with  silver)  as  no 
lowland  sideboard  but  his  was  ever  equipped  with,   but  commonly  reserving  for 
himself  one   that  was   peculiarly  precious  in   his  eyes,   as   having   travelled   from 
Edinburgh  to  Derby  in  the  canteen  of  Prince  Charlie.     This  relic  had  been  presented 
to  '  the  wandering  Ascanius '  by  some  very  careful  followers,  for  its  bottom  is  of 
glass,  that  he  who  quaffed  might  keep  his  eye  the  while  upon  the  dirk  hand  of  his 
companion."  l 

1  Life  of  Scott,  vol.  v.  pp.  339,  340. 
6 


42  ABBOTSFORD 

BALFOUR  OF   BURLEIGH'S   SNUFF-BOX 

Balfour  of  Burleigh's  snuff-box  is  an  egg-shaped  box  of  brass  with  delicately 
engraved  ornament  on  it.  It  is  much  worn,  and  the  ornamentation  now  almost 
undecipherable,  but  it  seems  to  have  consisted  of  foliage  and  figures.  It  is  hinged  at 
the  end,  the  hinge  being  in  high  relief,  with  the  lower  half  in  the  form  of  a  crown- 
rather  an  inappropriate  ornament  for  its  owner !  The  length  of  the  box  is  3  inches, 
and  the  width  2  inches  at  the  widest  part. 

It  is  unfortunately  not  known  how  this  gabion  came  into  Sir  Walter's  possession. 

Balfour  of  Burleigh,  immortalised  by  Sir  Walter  in  Old  Mortality,  is  described  in 
the  Lives  of  Scottish  Worthies  as  a  "little  man,  squint-eyed,  and  of  a  very  fierce 
aspect.  He  was  by  some  reckoned  none  of  the  most  religious,  yet  he  was  always 
reckoned  zealous  and  honest-hearted,  courageous  in  every  enterprise,  and  a  brave 
soldier,  seldom  any  escaping  that  came  into  his  hands."1 

In  a  note  to  Old  Mortality  Sir  Walter  tells  us  that  the  description  of  Burleigh's 
violent  death  in  the  novel  is  fictitious.  He  was  wounded  at  Bothwell  Bridge,  and 
afterwards  escaped  to  Holland.  "  His  biographer  seems  simple  enough  to  believe 
that  he  rose  high  in  the  Prince  of  Orange's  favour,"  but  having  still  a  desire  to  be 
avenged  upon  the  enemies  of  his  cause  in  Scotland,  he  embarked  for  that  country 
and  died  at  sea.  "It  was  reserved  for  this  historian,"  continues  Sir  Walter,  "to 
discover  that  the  moderation  of  King  William,  and  his  prudent  anxiety  to  prevent 
that  perpetuating  of  factious  quarrels  which  is  called  in  modern  times  Reaction, 
were  only  adopted  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  John  Balfour  called  Burley." 


NAPOLEON   I.'s   GOLD   BEE-CLASPS 

These  clasps,  composed  of  the  well-known  Napoleonic  emblem,  and  which 
appear  to  be  the  clasps  for  a  military  cloak,  were  taken  from  Napoleon's  carriage 
after  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  The  bees  each  measure  2\  inches  in  length,  the  wings 
measure  if  across,  the  length  of  the  whole  clasp  being  six  inches.  Each  bee  has  a 
stud  underneath  it  to  fasten  it  to  the  garment,  and  the  clasp  is  formed  by  serpents  in 
the  form  of  an  S,  with  an  ornamental  band  round  the  centre. 

1  Scottish  Worthies,  Leith,  1816,  p.  522. 


PANELS    FROM    'SPKAK    A    BIT' 


PLATE     XVIII 

BELT-PURSE   OR   SPORRAN   IN   STUDY 

HIS  purse,  of  which,  unfortunately,  we  possess  no  history,  is  of  red  plush 
with  a  red  woollen  binding,  and  lined  with  pale  red  leather.  It  has  two 
divisions  with  a  small  drawing-up  bag  fastened  against  the  central  piece 
of  leather.  The  clasp  is  semicircular  with  an  upright  grooved  pin  and  movable  ring, 
with  which  it  could  be  fastened  to  the  belt.  It  is  of  brass  and  perfectly  plain.  The 
size  of  the  purse  is  7^  inches  in  length  by  5  inches  at  hinge  of  clasp. 


POCKET-BOOK  WORKED   BY   FLORA   MACDONALD 

"  Give  me  back  my  trusty  comrades, 

Give  me  back  my  Highland  Maid, 
Nowhere  beats  the  heart  so  kindly, 
As  beneath  the  tartan  plaid." 

(Charles  Edward  at  Versailles. — AYTOUN.) 

The  pocket-book,  which  when  shut  measures  4^  by  6  inches,  is  embroidered 
with  wool  on  canvas,  and  bound  with  faded  ribbons.  It  is  lined  with  rose-pink 
sarcenet,  and  most  likely  the  ribbon  was  of  the  same  colour.  It  has  four  pockets  for 
letters,  very  ingeniously  contrived,  and  fastened  together  with  a  rounded  flap,  tied  by 
a  thin  purplish -coloured  ribbon.  The  book  is  embroidered  in  a  zigzag  pattern,  in 
various  colours.  A  letter  relating  to  the  history  of  this  precious  gabion  is  preserved 
in  one  of  the  pockets,  from  which  we  give  the  following  extracts. 


44  ABBOTSFORD 

LEITH,  6tk  May  1825. 
SIR  .WALTER  SCOTT,  BART. 

SIR, 

.  .  .  This  letter  is  accompanied  by  a  curiosity  of  no  ordinary  interest,  a 
pocket-book  wrought  by  the  hands  of  the  celebrated  Flora  Macdonald,  and  of  whichv 
sir,  I  now  most  respectfully  solicit  your  acceptance.  I  need  not  mention  the  motives 
which  have  induced  me  to  do  myself  the  honour,  and  to  place  in  your  hands  this 
little  relic — it  is  enough  to  say  that  it  has  been  given  to  Sir  Walter  Scott.  In  order 
to  do  away,  as  far  as  I  possibly  can,  any  idea  of  imposition  which  might  intrude,  I 
shall  state  to  you  how  it  came  into  my  possession.  In  the  summer  of  1809  my 
father,  Duncan  Campbell,  the  Supervisor  of  Excise  in  Glasgow,  was  appointed  by 
the  Board  to  accompany  one  Collector  Malcolm  in  surveying  all  the  salt  stocks  on 
the  west  and  north  coast  of  Scotland  and  the  Isles.  In  the  excursion  my  mother  and 
myself  accompanied  him.  Amongst  other  places  at  which  the  vessel  (a  R'evenue 
Cruiser)  touched  was  Port  Ree  in  the  Isle  of  Skye.  During  our  stay  in  that  harbour 
we  visited  a  Mr.  Macdonald  of  Kingsburgh,  where  we  met  with  a  sister  of  the  Attic 
heroine,  an  elderly  widow  lady.  My  mother  being  of  the  same  name,  and  a  native 
of  the  North  Highlands,  an  intimacy  very  soon  took  place,  and  the  gift  of  the  pocket- 
book  was  the  result.  I  am  sorry  to  add  that  a  lock  of  Prince  Charlie's  hair,  which 
the  book  contained  at  the  time  it  was  given,  has  been  lost.  The  letters  M.  M., 
which  you  will  observe  on  the  outside,  are  thus  explained.  Flora,  it  would  appear, 
had  intended  the  pocket-book  as  a  present  to  a  Mr.  Martin  Martin — at  that  time 
a  clergyman  in  the  Island, — but  he  having  died,  it  never  reached  its  destination. 

I  am,  SIR, 

With  the  most  profound  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

ALEX.  CAMPBELL. 

No  words  of  ours  are  needed  to  enhance  the  fame  of  Flora  Macdonald,  nor 
would  it  be  possible  to  enter  here  into  the  details  of  her  heroic  undertaking ;  but  we 
cannot  refrain  from  recalling  the  interesting  description  of  this  famous  person 
contained  in  Boswell's  Tour  of  the  Hebrides.  He  and  Dr.  Johnson  arrived  at 


ABBOTSFORD  45 

Kingsburgh  on  isth  September  1773,  where  they  were  hospitably  received  by  Mr. 
Macdonald.  Boswell  thus  continues  :  "  There  was  a  comfortable  parlour  with  a  good 
fire,  and  a  dram  went  round.  By  and  by  supper  was  served,  at  which  there  appeared 
the  lady  of  the  house,  the  celebrated  Miss  Flora  Macdonald.  She  is  a  little  woman, 
of  a  genteel  appearance,  and  uncommonly  mild  and  well-bred.  To  see  Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson,  the  great  champion  of  the  English  Tories,  salute  Miss  Flora  Macdonald  in 
the  Isle  of  Sky,  was  a  striking  sight,  for,  though  somewhat  congenial  in  their  notions, 
it  was  very  improbable  they  should  meet  here. 

"The  room  where  we  lay  was  a  celebrated  one.  Dr.  Johnson's  bed  was  the  very 
bed  in  which  the  grandson  of  the  unfortunate  King  James  II.  lay,  on  one  of  the 
nights  after  the  failure  of  his  rash  attempt  in  1745-46,  while  he  was  eluding  the 
pursuit  of  the  emissaries  of  Government,  which  had  offered  thirty  thousand  pounds  as 
a  reward  for  apprehending  him.  To  see  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  lying  in  that  bed,  in 
the  Isle  of  Sky,  in  the  house  of  Miss  Flora  Macdonald,  struck  me  with  such  a  groupe 
of  ideas  as  it  is  not  easy  for  words  to  describe,  as  they  passed  through  the  mind. 
He  smiled  and  said,  '  I  have  no  ambitious  thoughts  in  it.' " 

Who  would  not  wish  to  have  been  present  the  following  morning  after  breakfast 
when  Dr.  Johnson  "spoke  of  Prince  Charles  being  there,  and  asked  Mrs.  Macdonald 
'  Who  was. with  him  ?  We  are  told,  Madam,  in  England,  there  was  one  Miss  Flora 
Macdonald  with  him.'"  She  said,  "they  were  very  right,"  and  perceiving  Dr. 
Johnson's  curiosity,  though  he  had  delicacy  enough  not  to  question  her,  very 
obligingly  entertained  him  with  a  recital  of  the  particulars  which  she  herself  knew  of 
that  escape,  which  does  so  much  honour  to  the  humanity,  fidelity,  and  generosity  of 
the  Highlanders.  Dr.  Johnson  listened  to  her  with  placid  attention  and  said,  "All 
this  should  be  written  down." 


FROM   BACK  OF   A   CHAIR  AT   ABBOTSFORD 


PLATE   XIX 

* 

ROB   ROY'S   GUN  AND   SWORD 

"And  thus  among  the  rocks  he  lived, 
Through  summer's  heat  and  winter's  snow : 
The  eagle  he  was  lord  above, 

And  Rob  was  lord  below." — WORDSWORTH. 

OB  ROY'S  gun  is  an  old  flint-lock  gun  with  long  barrel,  inlaid  with  three 
silver  bands  and  silver  plate  bearing  initials  R.  M.  C.  (for  Robert  Mac- 
gregor  Campbell).1  This  is  the  same  gun  with  which  his  son,  Robin  Oig, 
shot  M'Laren  of  Invernenty.  The  barrel  is  octagonal.  The  stock  has  a  brass  plate 
with  an  engraved  design  and  another  on  the  top  with  a  shell  pattern.  The  trigger 
guard  is  also  of  brass.  The  barrel  is  4  feet  in  length,  and  the  stock  1 7  inches. 

Rob  Roy's  sword  is  a  fine  "old  Highland  Broadsword,  with  Andrea  Ferrara 
blade  and  basket  hilt."  It  is  37  inches  in  length,  the  blade  being  32^-  by  i£  inches. 
Enlargements  of  hilt  and  stock  drawn  half  real  size. 

On  each  side  the  blade  has  the  name  Andrea  Ferrara  with  three  orbs  and 
crosses.  The  hilt  is  of  scroll  work  with  flat  plates  perforated  with  round  and  heart- 
shaped  holes.  The  grip  is  covered  with  spirally  carved  wood,  and  the  pommel  is  a 
flattened  knob  ornamented  with  dots  and  lines. 


1  Introduction  to  Rob  Roy,  Cent.  Ed.,  p.  39. 


48  ABBOTSFORD 

Rob  Roy's  name  is  so  familiar  as  a  hero  of  romance,  and  the  real  facts  of  his 
history  are  so  intermingled  with  those  of  a  legendary  nature,  that  it  is  perhaps 
difficult  to  disentangle  the  two,  and  to  picture  to  ourselves  the  man  as  he  really 
appeared  to  his  contemporaries.  Robert  Macgregor,  commonly  styled  Rob  Roy, 
was  the  younger  son  of  Donald  Macgregor  of  Glengyle.  His  mother  was  a 
Campbell  of  Glenfalloch,  and  Robert  afterwards  adopted  her  name  when  his  own  had 
been  abolished  by  Act  of  Parliament.  Robert's  own  designation  was  of  Inversnaid, 
but  later  in  life  he  also  acquired  some  kind  of  right  to  the  property  of  Craig  Royston, 
lying  on  the  east  side  of  Loch  Lomond.  To  this,  possibly,  as  well  as  to  his  colouring, 
he  owed  his  sobriquet  of  Rob  Roy.  The  exact  date  of  his  birth,  and  even  of  his 
death,  is  uncertain  ;  but  it  is  probable  that  he  was  born  about  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  as  he  is  said  to  have  died  about  1733,  an  aged  man.  To  follow 
Robert  through  his  chequered  career  from  his  first  reputed  appearance  among  the 
scenes  of  war  and  plunder  following  the  Revolution,  through  his  more  peaceful  days 
of  cattle-dealing,  ending  in  the  wild  days  of  his  "  cateran  "  life  and  political  enter- 
prise, would  be  too  long  a  task,  but  the  following  descriptions  taken  from  Sir  Walter's 
historical  introduction  to  the  novel  of  Rob  Roy,  may  help  us  to  form  a  just  idea  of 
this  remarkable  personage  :— 

"  His  stature  was  not  of  the  tallest,  but  his  person  was  uncommonly  strong  and 
compact.  The  greatest  peculiarities  of  his  frame  were  the  breadth  of  his  shoulders, 
and  the  great  and  almost  disproportionate  length  of  his  arms — so  remarkable  indeed 
that  it  was  said  he  could,  without  stooping,  tie  the  garters  of  his  Highland  hose, 
which  are  placed  two  inches  below  the  knee.  His  countenance  was  open,  manly, 
stern  at  periods  of  danger,  but  frank  and  cheerful  in  his  hours  of  festivity.  His  hair 
was  dark  red,  thick  and  frizzled,  and  curled  short  round  the  face.  His  fashion  of 
dress  showed,  of  course,  the  knees  and  upper  part  of  the  leg,  which  was  described 
to'  me  as  resembling  that  of  a  Highland  bull,  hirsute  with  red  hair,  and  evincing 
muscular  strength  similar  to  that  animal.  To  these  personal  qualifications  must  be 
added  a  masterly  use  of  the  Highland  sword,  in  which  his  length  of  arm  gave  him 
great  advantage,  and  a  perfect  and  intimate  knowledge  of  all  the  recesses  of  the  wild 
country  in  which  he  harboured,  and  the  character  of  the  various  individuals,  whether 
friends  or  hostile,  with  whom  he  might  come  in  contact.  His  mental  qualities  seem 
to  have  been  less  adapted  to  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed.  Though 
the  descendant  of  the  bloodthirsty  Ciar  Mhor,  he  inherited  none  of  his  ancestor's 


ABBOTSFORD  49 

ferocity.  On  the  contrary,  Rob  Roy  avoided  every  appearance  of  cruelty,  and  it  is 
not  averred  that  he  was  ever  the  means  of  unnecessary  bloodshed,  or  the  actor  in 
any  deed  which  could  lead  the  way  to  it.  His  schemes  of  plunder  were  contrived 
and  executed  with  equal  boldness  and  sagacity,  and  were  almost  universally  success- 
ful, from  the  skill  with  which  they  were  laid,  and  the  secrecy  and  rapidity  with  which 
they  were  executed.  Like  Robin  Hood  of  England  he  was  a  kind  and  gentle 
robber,  and,  while  he  took  from  the  rich,  was  liberal  in  relieving  the  poor.  This 
might  in  part  be  policy  ;  but  the  universal  tradition  of  the  country  speaks  it  to  have 
arisen  from  a  better  motive. 

"  All  whom  I  have  conversed  with,  and  I  have  in  my  youth  seen  some  who  knew 
Rob  Roy  personally,  give  him  the  character  of  a  benevolent  and  humane  man  '  in  his 
way.' 

"  This  singular  man  died  in  bed  in  his  own  house  in  the  parish  of  Balquhidder. 
He  was  buried  in  the  churchyard  of  the  same  parish,  where  his  tombstone  is  only 
distinguished  by  a  rude  attempt  at  the  figure  of  a  broadsword."1 

1    Introduction  to  Rob  Roy,  Centenary  Edition,  pp.  17  and  18. 


3  O       '       O,         -.(!» 

-- -      •"• 


o  •••. 


r; 


PANELS   FROM    KRSKINES    PL'LPIT 


PLATE    XX 

TWO   PAIRS   OF  THUMBSCREWS   OR  THUMBIKINS 

HIS  cruel  little  instrument  of  torture  was  introduced  into  practice  by  the 
Scottish  Privy  Council  in  the  i7th  century.  As  shown  by  the  examples 
here  given,  the  thumbscrews  varied  slightly  in  form  ;  but  we  should  fear 
their  variations  made  little  difference  to  the  victims  "whose  thumbs  could  be  broken 
or  hopelessly  destroyed  by  the  screw."  l 

The  well-known  Mr.  William  Carstares  was,  for  complicity  in  some  of  the  plots  of 
the  day,  tortured  by  the  thumbscrews  for  fully  an  hour.  After  the  Revolution  he  be- 
came Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh  and  confidential  adviser  to  William  1 1 1. 
regarding  the  affairs  of  Scotland.  The  identical  thumbscrews  by  which  he  had 
suffered  were  presented  to  him  by  the  Privy  Council,  and  were  long  preserved  in  the 
family.  The  following  anecdote  in  connection  with  the  instrument  was  handed  down 
by  his  descendants.  "  I  have  heard,  Principal,"  said  King  William  to  him,  "  that  you 
were  tortured  with  something  they  call  thumbikins  ;  pray  what  sort  of  instrument  of 
torture  is  it  ? "  "I  will  show  it  you,"  answered  Carstares,  "  the  next  time  I  have  the 
honour  to  wait  upon  your  Majesty."  Soon  after,  accordingly,  the  Principal  brought 
the  thumbikins  to  be  shown  to  the  King.  "  I  must  put  in  my  thumbs  here ;  now 
Principal,  turn  the  screw.  Oh  not  so  gently ;  another  turn — another.  Stop,  stop ! 
No  more  !  Another  turn,  I  am  afraid,  would  make  me  confess  anything." ; 


1  Scottish  National  Memorials. 
2  R.  Chambers,  Domestic  Annals  of  Scotland. 


52  ABBOTSFORD 

The  following  letter,  endorsed  by  Sir  Walter — "  Mr.  Alexander,  with  a  pair  of 
Thumbscrews,"  accompanied  one  of  the  instruments  (the  one  to  the  left)  here 
portrayed,  and  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  the  times  when  such  cruelties  were  practised 

by  law. 

6  GEORGE  STREET, 

• 
2ist  May  1819. 

SIR, 

At  Jedburgh,  during  last  Spring  Circuit,  I  met  with  Mr.  J.  Richardson, 
whom  one  evening,  as  he  was  describing  some  Memorials  of  Ancient  Times  which 
he  had  seen  at  Abbotsford,  I  asked  if  there  was  among  them  anything  like  the 
thumbikins  so  well  known  at  one  period  in  Scotland.  I  told  him  I  was  in  possession 
of  a  pair ;  that  I  had  often  wished  to  give  them  to  Mr.  Scott,  but  had  felt  a  delicacy 
in  doing  so.  Richardson  said  he  should  mention  to  you  what  I  told  him  ;  and  yester- 
day I  learned  that  you  would  be  happy  to  accept  them.  Of  these  thumbikins  I  can 
give  no  satisfactory  account.  My  mother's  family  has,  for  time  immemorial,  resided 
in  Ayrshire.  During  the  persecution  under  Charles  II.  her  great  grandfather,  Hugh 
Miller,  or  some  still  more  distant  progenitor  of  that  name,  underwent  considerable 
hardships.  He  was  long  a  prisoner  in  Ayr  Jail,  and  more  than  once  it  is  reported 
suffered  torture.  The  jailer's  daughter  was  young,  lovely,  and  tender-hearted,  and 
taking  compassion  on  Hugh's  desolate  condition,  her  kindness,  which  commenced  by 
feeding  him  through  a  wicket  with  bread,  unknown  to  her  father,  at  last  terminated 
in  a  devoted  attachment  and  love  which  was  strongly  and  honourably  felt  on  the 
part  of  the  hardy  prisoner.  After  about  two  years'  confinement  he  was  somehow 
liberated.  He  soon  after  married  her,  and  here  am  I,  a  direct  descendant  from  this 
philanthropic  fair  one  and  this  sturdy  Covenanter.  My  testimony  to  these  facts  is 
oral  and  traditionary,  yet  from  my  knowledge  of  the  habits  of  my  forefathers  I  have 
entire  confidence  in  what  they  have  thus  related.  That  Hugh  suffered  by  means  of 
thumbikins,  or  that  these  are  the  identical  instruments,  I  must  not  say ;  yet  such  is 
the  report,  and  these  thumbikins  have  been  long  at  least  in  my  mother's  family. 
But  be  that  as  it  may,  thumbikins  they  certainly  are — old,  stern,  and  angry-like ;  and 
where  inquiry  would  now  be  vain  I  have  just  allowed  myself  to  believe  them  the 
very  instruments  which  screwed  the  thumbs  of  hardy  Hugh,  and  wrung  the  heart  of 
tender  Mary. 

Thus   descended   of  firm   and  faithful   Covenanters,  educated  in  their  strictest 


ABBOTSFORD  53 

tenets,  taught  to  revere  their  memory  and  their  doings,  and  even  inclined  to  glory  in 
their  efforts,  which  I  believed  were  often  prompted  and  guided  by  fanaticism,  am  I 
false  to  the  memory  of  my  ancestors  in  thus  parting  with  what  most  powerfully 
serves  to  suggest  their  sufferings  and  their  constancy  ?  Certainly  I  am  not.  I  have 
long  thought,  perhaps  with  childish  solicitude,  regarding  such  a  trifling  relic,  how  I 
might  without  impertinence  resign  it  to  its  best  and  most  legitimate  custodier ;  and 
in  proportion  as  my  fancy  and  my  veneration  was  alive  to  all  associated  with  this 
relic,  have  felt  the  higher  wish  to  put  it  into  the  keeping  of  one  whom  I  deem  the 
truest  representative  of  all  that  is  national.  In  short,  I  wished  it  in  your  possession, 
and  am  proud  to  know  you  will  accept  it. 

Accept  then  this  trifling  memorial  of  earlier  times,  as  a  testimony  of  my  high 
esteem  for  your  character,  and  admiration  of  your  genius,  and  you  will  kindly  oblige, 

SIR, 

Your  very  humble  Servant, 

GABRIEL  ALEXANDER. 


PANELS   FROM    '  SPEAK    A    BIT* 


PLATE   XXI 
ROB    ROY'S    PURSE 

H  E  purse  is  4^  inches  broad  by  4  inches  deep,  and  is  made  of  brown 
leather,  much  worn.  It  has  two  divisions,  and  has  evidently  been  sewn 
to  a  belt, — the  holes  of  the  stitches  being  visible  in  four  places  at  the 
back.  The  front  of  the  purse  is  gathered  together  in  two  folds  by  a  leather  thong, 
and  the  flap  is  fastened  with  a  button.  It  contains  a  card  with  the  following  lines  : 
"  This  purse,  with  a  dirk  now  (1818)  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Young,  Castle  Douglas, 
was  given  by  Rob  Roy  to  Maxwell,  Esq.,  of  Straquhan  in  the  parish  of  Dunscore. 
After  this  gentleman  was  drowned  in  the  River  Fleet,  the  purse  and  dirk  became  the 
property  of  Thos.  Walker,  an  old  servant,  whose  son,  through  the  intermedium  of  a 
friend,  gave  this  purse  to  Joseph  Train,  who  takes  the  liberty  of  presenting  it  to 
Walter  Scott,  Esq." 

In  the  Abbotsford  MSS.  we  find  the  following  note  which  completes  this 
account. 

"  The  generous  supervisor,  Mr.  Train,  visited  Sir  Walter  in  Edinburgh  in  May 
1816,  a  few  days  after  the  publication  of  the  Antiquary,  carrying  with  him  several 
relics  which  he  wished  to  present  to  his  collection,  among  others  a  Purse  that  had 
belonged  to  Rob  Roy." 

HELEN   MACGREGOR'S   BROOCH 

The  brooch  is  of  silver,  circular  in  form,  and  of  the  style  generally  termed  Celtic. 
It  is  a  six-pointed  star  with  a  thistle  and  two  leaves  between,  and  alternating  with 
each  point.  The  drawing  is  full  size.  The  brooch  appears  to  have  been  the  chief 


56  ABBOTSFORD 

ornament  in  the  dress  of  the  Gael,  both  in  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and  was  used  by  the 
women  to  fasten  the  plaid  and  other  portions  of  their  attire,  from  which  Pinkerton 
thinks  may  be  derived  the  usual  perquisite  of  women,  pin-money. 

Although  a  woman  of  "  fierce  and  haughty  temper,"  this  high-spirited  chieftainess 
must  have  possessed  warm  feelings  and  no  mean  taste  for  music,  as  evinced  by  Rob 
Roys  Lament,  a  fine  piece  of  pipe  music  composed  by  her  to  express  her  grief  when 
she  and  her  husband  were  forced  to  leave  the  banks  of  Loch  Lomond,  about  the  year 
1712.  To  compensate  for  our  meagre  knowledge  of  Helen  we  venture  to  quote 
Francis  Osbaldistone's  description  of  her  in  the  novel  of  Rob  Roy,  not  omitting  the 
•worthy  Bailie's  comment  on  her  appearance. 

"  I  have  seldom  seen  a  finer  or  more  commanding  form  than  this  woman.  She 
might  be  between  the  term  of  forty  and  fifty  years,  and  had  a  countenance  which 
must  once  have  been  of  a  masculine  cast  of  beauty,  though  now  imprinted  with  deep 
lines  by  exposure  to  rough  weather,  and  perhaps  by  the  wasting  influence  of  grief 
and  passion,  its  features  were  only  strong,  harsh,  and  expressive.  She  wore  her 
plaid,  not  drawn  around  her  head  and  shoulders  as  is  the  fashion  of  the  women  in 
Scotland,  but  disposed  around  her  body,  as  the  Highland  soldiers  wear  theirs.  She 
had  a  man's  bonnet,  with  a  feather  in  it,  an  unsheathed  sword  in  her  hand,  and  a  pair 
of  pistols  at  her  girdle. 

"  '  It's  Helen  Campbell,  Rob's  wife,'  said  the  Bailie,  in  a  whisper  of  considerable 
alarm  ;  '  and  there  will  be  broken  heads  amang  us  or  it's  lang.'  "  l 

TOADSTONE  AMULET 

The  amulet,  in  length  2  inches,  and  in  breadth  i  f ,  is  a  flat,  heart-shaped  stone 
of  a  dark  reddish  brown,  veined  with  shades  of  lighter  colour.  It  is  surrounded  by 
a  silver  mounting  in  the  form  of  leaves,  tied  down  by  a  double  chain.  An  oval  ring 
is  fixed  at  the  top,  to  allow  of  it  being  worn  on  a  ribbon  or  chain, — a  use  to  which 
it  seems  often  to  have  been  put,  as  Sir  Walter  tells  us  in  the  following  description  of 
this  gabion:  "A  loadstone,  a  celebrated  amulet,  which  was  never  lent  to  any  one 
unless  upon  a  bond  for  a  thousand  marks  for  its  being  safely  restored.  It  was 
sovereign  for  protecting  new-born  children  and  their  mothers  from  the  power  of  the 
fairies,  and  has  been  repeatedly  borrowed  from  my  mother  on  account  of  this 


virtue." 


1  Rob  Roy,  Centenary  Edition,  p.  342.  2  Abbotsford  MSS. 


I'AN'EL   FROM    '  SPEAK    A    BIT* 


PLATE    XXII 
BORDER  WAR-HORN 

HIS  horn  was  a  trophy  of  one  of  Sir  Walter's  "raids"  into  Liddesdale. 
For  seven  successive  years  he  made  these  expeditions,  accompanied  by 
his  excellent  friend,  Mr.  Shortreed,  Sheriff-Substitute  for  Roxburghshire. 
The  charming  descriptions  of  "  Charlie's  Hope "  and  its  inhabitants,  and  much  of 
the  material  for  the  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border,  owe  their  origin  to  these 
journeys  ;  and  though  we  do  not  know  how  early  Sir  Walter  had  any  definite  object 
in  his  researches,  he  was,  as  Mr.  Shortreed  expressed  it,  "  makin'  himself  a'  the  time." 
This  good  friend  also  thus  graphically  describes  the  acquisition  of  the  war-horn. 

"It  was  that  same  season,  I  think,"  says  Mr.  Shortreed,  "that  Sir  Walter  got 
from  Dr.  Elliot  the  large  old  border  war-horn  which  ye  may  still  see  hanging  in  the 
armoury  at  Abbotsford.  How  great  he  was  when  he  was  made  master  o*  that !  I 
believe  it  had  been  found  in  Hermitage  Castle,  and  one  of  the  doctor's  servants  had 
used  it  many  a  day  as  a  grease-horn  for  his  scythe  before  they  discovered  its  history. 
When  cleaned  out  it  was  never  a  hair  the  worse — the  original  chain,  hoop,  and 
mouthpiece  of  steel  were  all  entire,  just  as  you  now  see  them.  Sir  Walter  carried  it 
home  all  the  way  from  Liddesdale  to  Jedburgh,  slung  about  his  neck  like  Johnny 
Gilpin's  bottle,  while  I  was  intrusted  with  an  ancient  bridlebit,  which  we  had  like- 
wise picked  up. 

'  The  feint  o'  pride — na  pride  had  he  ... 
A  lang  kail-gully  hung  down  by  his  side, 
And  a  great  mickle  no\vt-horn  to  rout  on  had  he.' 
8 


58  ABBOTSFORD 

And  meikle  and  sair  we  routed  on't,  and  'botched  and  blew,  wi'  micht  and  main.' 
Oh  what  pleasant  days !  And  then  a'  the  nonsense  had  cost  us  naething.  We  never 
put  hand  in  pocket  for  a  week  on  end.  Toll-bars  there  were  none — and  indeed  I 
think  our  haill  charges  were  a  feed  o'  corn  to  our  horses  in  the  gangin'  and  comin'  at 
Riccarton  mill." 

The  war-horn,  which  resembles  an  ordinary  cow  horn,  is  hooped  with  iron'.  It 
has  a  double  chain  attached  to  each  end  by  rings.  The  length  of  the  horn  is  22^ 
inches,  the  diameter  nearly  4  inches. 

JAMES  VI.'s  HUNTING-BOTTLE 

The  hunting-bottle  is  contained  in  an  old  tooled  and  gilt  leather  case,  which 
has  a  brass  lock  and  catch  highly  ornamented  with  leaf  and  floral  design.  The 
bottle  is  oval  with  glass  stopper. 

The  size  is  8  inches  by  4^. 

This  bottle  was  presented  to  Sir  Walter  by  his  friend  and  valued  amanuensis, 
Mr.  Huntly  Gordon,  the  son  of  Major  Pryse  Gordon,  Sir  Walter's  cicerone  on  the 
field  of  Waterloo  in  1815. 

Sir  Walter,  in  a  note  to  the  Fortunes  of  Nigel,  alludes  to  the  hunting-bottle  as 
follows  :  "  The  author,  among  other  nicknacks  of  antiquity,  possesses  a  leathern  flask 
like  those  carried  by  sportsmen,  which  is  labelled  'King  James's  Hunting- Bottle." 
Unfortunately,  he  adds,  "  with  what  authority  is  uncertain." 


m 


STONE  CARVINGS   FROM   GARDEN    SCKKF.N 


PLATE    XXIII 


A   POLYGAR'S   KNIFE 

WEAPON     with    a    broad    curved    blade.       The    blade    damascened 
with  gold  in  cuneiform  and  line  designs.      The   handle  is   mounted 
with    brass    and   ornamented   with   quatrefoil   and   crescents   in    high 
relief,  and  enriched  by  26  small  rubies. 
Length  25  inches. 

A   PERSIAN   DAGGER   AND   SHEATH 

This  dagger  is  14  inches  in  length.  The  sheath  is  of  wood  covered  with 
red  velvet.  The  hilt  is  of  iron,  beautifully  damascened  in  gold,  in  flowers  and 
leaves.  The  blade  is  slightly  fluted.  The  mounting  of  the  sheath  is  also 
beautifully  engraved. 


The  blade  waved  and 


A   MALAY   KRIS 

With  grotesque  ivory  handle  in  the  form  of  a  bird, 
fluted. 

Length  18  inches. 


CASE  OF  HUNTING-KNIVES,  OR  COUTEAUX  DE  CHASSE 

This  case  of  hunting  -  knives,  called  also  a  "Slashing  Hanger,"  is  said  to 
have  belonged  to  Prince  Charlie,  which  its  apparent  date  and  French  origin  may 
corroborate. 


60  ABBOTSFORD 

The  hilts  and  sheath  are  ornamented  with  chased  ormolu  mounts  of  the  time  of 
Louis  XIV.  The  handle  of  the  large  knife  bears  a  figure  of  Diana.  The  case  also 
contains  three  small  knives,  a  two-pronged  fork,  and  a  pointed  instrument  with  a 
perforated  hole  like  the  eye  of  a  large  needle.  The  case  is  20^  inches  long,  by  3! 
inches  at  its  broadest  part. 

ROB  ROY'S  DIRK 

"A  very  long  old  Highland  dirk,  with  Andrea  Ferrara  double  channelled 
blade,  formerly  belonged  to  Rob  Roy."1  It  is  24^- inches  long.  The  blade  is 
20  inches,  with  a  carved  interlaced  handle  finished  on  the  top  with  a  flat  circular 
plate  of  silver,  and  a  knob.  The  sheath  is  black  leather,  mounted  with  four 
bands  of  silver,  two  of  which  head  pockets  containing  a  knife  and  a  two-pronged 
fork.  Both  handles  are  carved  with  interlaced  work.  The  sheath  has  a  plain 
silver  ring  at  upper  end. 

This  dirk  is,  we  may  hope,  the  same  which  is  connected  with  a  dramatic  scene 
at  the  close  of  Rob  Roy's  life,  given  as  follows  in  the  historical  preface  to  the 
novel.  "There  is  a  tradition  .  .  .  that  while  on  his  deathbed  he  (Rob  Roy) 
learned  that  a  member  of  a  family  with  whom  he  was  at  enmity  proposed  to 
visit  him.  'Raise  me  from  my  bed,'  said  the  invalid,  'throw  my  plaid  around 
me,  and  bring  me  my  claymore,  dirk,  and  pistols — it  shall  never  be  said  that  a 
foeman  saw  Rob  MacGregor  defenceless  and  unarmed.'  " 


A  TARTAR  SWORD  IN  BRASS-MOUNTED  SHAGREEN 

SCABBARD 

The  slightly  convex  grip  is  of  fluted  ebony,  mounted  in  brass  and 
engraved  in  floral  and  foliated  patterns  with  ground  in  small  raised  dots. 
The  sheath  is  of  wood  covered  with  shagreen  and  ornamented  by  three  raised 
oval  medallions  in  brass,  with  the  same  floral  patterns  and  dotted  ground  throughout. 
Length  23  inches. 

1  Abbotsford  Catalogue,  p.  22. 


PANELS  FROM    'SPEAK   A   BIT1 


PLATE  XXIV 
ROB  ROY'S  SPORRAN1  AND  SKENE  DHU 

OB  ROY'S  sporran  is  of  very  strong  thick  skin  with  a  semicircular  clasp, 
ornamented  with  concentric  circles,  and  a  single  line  with  fine  dog-tooth 
on  the  upper  side.  The  skin  is  sewn  to  the  clasp  by  thongs,  and  the 
front  has  a  raised  five -pointed  star,  and  a  waving  line.  The  top  of  the  clasp  is 
ornamented  with  lines,  and  has  had  three  knobs.  At  the  back  is  a  brass  knob  in 
the  centre,  and  on  either  side  a  strong  flat  metal  loop.  This  gabion  was  given 
to  Sir  Walter  by  Mr.  Constable,  as  we  learn  by  the  following  letter  :— 

MR.  SCOTT  TO  MR.  CONSTABLE. 

"ABBOTSFORD,  \\tli  October  1817. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  to  return  you  my  best  thanks  for  the  curious  letters — 
one  by  my  father's  grandfather,  the  Laird  of  Newmains ;  one  respecting  Harden, 
who  appears  to  have  been,  like  some  of  his  descendants,  occasionally  short  of 
cash.  They  are,  however,  a  thriving  generation  in  their  way,  and  taking  them 
on  the  whole.  I  have  bought  Totfield,  which  will  clear  the  sporran  which  you 
have  so  lately  filled.  I  fancy,  by  the  very  curious  purse  you  have  so  obligingly 
given  me,  you  had  a  mind  to  give  me  a  hint  how  to  keep  my  cash :  for  if  I 
once  could  put  it  into  Rob  Roy's  leathern  convenience,  I  defy  any  one  to  find 
the  means  of  getting  it  out  again.  Hitherto  our  united  ingenuity  has  not  been 
able  to  find  the  mode  of  opening  it.  However,  if  I  can  put  no  money  into  the 

1  The  sporran  has,  we  believe,  never  been  opened.' 


62  ABBOTSFORD 

Highlandman's  sporran  I  can  contrive  to  make  them  put  some  into  mine,  which 
is  as  much  to  the  purpose.  (Signed)  WALTER  SCOTT. 

"  The  stone  from  Linlithgow  is  very  curious." 

It  is  doubtful  whether  we  may  assert  this  sporran  to  be  the  same  as  that 
described  at  page  392  of  the  novel  of  Rob  Roy,  but  we  cannot  refrain  from  quoting 
the  passage  so  appropriate  to  this  gabion. 

"  '  I  advise  no  man  to  attempt  opening  this  sporran  till  he  has  my  secret,'  said 
Rob  Roy,  and  then  twisting  one  button  in  one  direction,  and  another  in  another, 
pulling  one  stud  upward,  and  pressing  another  downward,  the  mouth  of  the  purse, 
which  was  bound  with  massive  silver-plate,  opened  and  gave  admittance  to  his  hand. 
He  made  me  remark  that  a  small  steel  pistol  was  concealed  within  the  purse,  the 
trigger  of  which  was  connected  with  the  mounting  and  made  part  of  the  machinery, 
so  that  the  weapon  could  be  discharged,  and  in  all  probability  its  contents  lodged  in 
the  person  of  any  one  who,  being  unacquainted  with  the  secret,  should  tamper  with  the 
lock  which  secured  his  treasure.  '  This,' said  he,  touching  the  pistol,  'this  is  the 
keeper  of  my  privy  purse.' ' 

Size — 8^  in.  long,  by  5^  in.  at  the  hinges  of  clasp,  and  6£  in.  at  the  broadest  part 
of  the  bag. 

Rob  Roy's  skene  dhu  is  a  strong  dangerous-looking  weapon,  8  in.  in  length, 
including  handle,  and  if  in.  at  widest  part  of  blade.  The  handle  is  cross  hatched  by 
deep  cut.  lines  and  mounted  with  silver.  The  end  is  set  with  a  pale-coloured  cairn- 
gorm which  is  drawn  full  size.  The  blade  has  the  maker's  name,  M'Leod,  engraved 
upon  it.  The  sheath  is  of  black  leather,  mounted  at  both  ends  with  broad  bands  of 
silver. 

The  skene  dhu,  or  black  knife,  which  formed  part  of  a  Highlander's  equipment, 
was  used  for  the  purpose  of  despatching  game,  or  for  other  servile  purposes  for  which 
they  objected  to  use  their  dirks.  Unfortunately  nothing  is  known  of  the  history  of 
this  weapon,  nor  is  it  known  how  it  came  into  Sir  Walter's  possession. 


FROM    BACK   OF  A  CHAIR  AT  ABIJOTSFORD 


PLATE    XXV 

THE  DOOR  OF  "THE  HEART  OF  MIDLOTHIAN  "- 

THE  OLD  TOLBOOTH  OF  EDINBURGH- 

AND  ITS  KEYS 

HIS  door,  which  is  built  into  the  west  end  of  the  house,  was  presented 
to  Sir  Walter  by  the  Magistrates  of  Edinburgh  in  1817,  when  the 
_  ancient  prison  of  Edinburgh  was  pulled  down.  In  the  previous  year 

Sir  Walter,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Terry,  thus  alludes  to  this  interesting  addition  to 
his  "gabions." 

"  I  expect  to  get  some  decorations  from  the  old  Tolbooth  of  Edinburgh, 
particularly  the  cope  stones  of  the  doorway,  or  lintels,  as  we  call  them,  and 
a  niche  or  two,  one  very  handsome  indeed!  Better  get  a  niche  from  the 
Tolbooth  than  a  niche  in  it,  to  which  such  building  -  operations  are  apt  to 
bring  the  projectors." 

The  Tolbooth,  so  intimately  connected  not  only  with  the  long  history 
of  national  crime  and  misery,  but  with  brighter  days  of  loyal  parliaments, 
and  ennobled  by  the  names  of  some  of  those  who  were  imprisoned  within  its 
walls,  appears  to  have  been  in  part  of  great  antiquity,  as  it  was  already  old 
and  ruinous  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary,  and  its  destruction  was  even  then 
contemplated.  The  Tolbooth  stood  close  to  the  Church  of  St.  Giles,  occupying 


64  ABBOTSFORD 

half  the  width  of  the  High  Street.  "Antique  in  form,  gloomy  and  haggard 
in  aspect,  its  black  stanchioned  windows  opening  through  its  dingy  walls 
like  the  apertures  of  a  hearse,  it  was  calculated  to  impress  all  beholders  with 
a  due  and  deep  sense  of  what  was  meant  in  Scottish  law  by  sqiialor  carceris."^ 

It  was  composed  of  two  parts,  one  more  ancient  and  solid  than  the  other, 
and  much  resembling  a  border  tower, — it  had  indeed  probably  been  a  kind  of 
peel,  or  house  of  defence,  used  for  public  purposes  by  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh. — 
It  may  very  likely  have  been  the  very  "pretorium  burgi  de  Edinburgi  "  in  which 
a  parliament  was  held  in  1438,  to  deliberate  on  the  measures  necessitated  by 
the  murder  of  James  I.  Here  Queen  Mary  assembled  her  parliaments,  and 
here,  on  the  door  of  the  Tolbooth,  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh  by  night  fixed  libels 
charging  the  Earl  of  Bothwell  with  the  murder  of  Darnley,  and  doubtless  other 
documents  of  the  same  nature  at  divers  times.  The  chief  entrance  to  the  prison, 
and  the  only  one  used  in  later  times,  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  turret  next  St. 
Giles's  Church.  The  gateway  was  of  carved  stone,  and  the  door  of  ponderous 
massiveness  and  strength,  having  besides  the  lock  a  flap-padlock. 

The  first  floor  of  the  prison  was  occupied  by  the  hall,  originally  used  as 
Parliament  House,  and  in  which  in  later  days  a  curious  double  window  was 
pointed  out  as  having  then  formed  the  door  through  which  the  sovereign 
entered.  It  is  said  that  on  these  occasions  a  sort  of  temporary  bridge  was  thrown 
between  this  aperture  and  a  house  on  the  other  side  of  the  street,  by  which 
the  sovereign  in  regal  robes  made  his  state  entry. 

In  more  modern  times  one  end  of  the  hall  was  partitioned  into  two  small 
rooms  for  the  use  of  the  chaplain  of  the  prison.  At  the  end  of  the  apartment 
hung  a  board  on  which  were  inscribed  the  following  verses : 

"  A  Prison  is  a  house  of  care, 

A  place  where  none  can  thrive, 
A  touchstone  true  to  try  a  friend, 
A  grave  for  men  alive. 

Sometimes  a  place  of  right, 

Sometimes  a  place  of  wrong, 
Sometimes  a  place  for  jades  and  thieves, 

And  honest  men  among." 

1  Chambers,  Traditions  of  Edinburgh. 


ABBOTSFORD  65 

Of  the  honest  men  imprisoned  in  the  Tolbooth,  one  great  name  stands  foremost. 
Here  Montrose  spent  his  last  days,  and  from  here 

"  Came  the  hero  from  his  prison, 
To  the  scaffold  and  the  doom." 

After  the  execution  the  head  was  "set  on  the  Tolbooth  of  Edinburgh,"  and 
so  fearful  were  his  enemies  of  its  being  removed  that  "  there  was  a  new  cross  prick 
appointed  of  iron  to  cross  the  former  prick,  whereon  his  head  was  fixed,  which  was 
speedily  done  that  his  head  should  not  be  removed." l  How  Montrose  had  viewed  the 
fate  reserved  for  him  we  learn  by  his  gallant  words  to  the  magistrates  of  Edinburgh, 
who  visited  him  in  his  prison  the  day  before  his  death.  "  I  am  much  beholden  to 
the  Parliament,"  he  said,  "  for  the  great  honour  they  have  decreed  me.  I  am  prouder 
to  have  had  my  head  fixed  upon  the  top  of  the  prison  in  view  of  the  present  and 
succeeding  ages  than  if  they  had  decreed  me  a  golden  statue  in  the  market-place,  or 
that  my  picture  should  be  hung  in  the  king's  bedchamber.  I  am  thankful  for  that 
effectual  method  of  preserving  the  memory  of  my  devotion  to  my  beloved 
sovereign."  '• 

Less  than  a  hundred  years  later  the  Tolbooth  became  the  scene  of  the  famous 
Porteous  Riot.  From  the  vivid  description  given  of  this  tragic  event  by  Sir 
Walter  in  The  Heart  of  Midlothian  we  choose  the  following  extracts,  as  they  bear 
more  particularly  on  the  subject  we  are  considering. 

When  the  mob  had  surrounded  the  prison,  "a  select  body  of  the  rioters 
thundered  at  the  door  of  the  jail  and  demanded  instant  admission.  No  one 
answered,  for  the  outer  keeper  had  prudently  made  his  escape  with  the  keys  at  the 
commencement  of  the  riot,  and  was  nowhere  to  be  found.  The  door  was  instantly 

1  Nichol's  Diary. 

2  "A  rare  work  printed  in  1676,  and  entitled  Binning's  Light  to  the  Art  of  Gunnery,  contains  a  curious 
story  regarding  the  head  of  Montrose.     '  In  the  year  1650,'  says  Binning,  '  I  was  in  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh. 
One  remarkable  instance  I  had  in  shooting  at  that  mirror  of  his  time  for  loyalty  and  gallantry,  James  Marquis 
of  Montrose  his  head,  standing  on  the  pinnacle  of  the  Tolbooth  of  Edinburgh  :  but  that  Providence  had  ordered 
that  head  to  be  taken  down  with  more  honour.     I  admired  of  its  abiding,  for  the  ball  took  the  stone  joining  the 
stone  whereon  it  stood,  which  stone  fell  down  and  killed  a  drummer  and  a  soldier  or  two,  on  their  march 
between  the  Luckenbooths  and  the  Church,  and  the  head  remained  till  by  his  Majesty  it  was  ordered  to  be 
taken  down  and  buried  with  such  honour  as  was   due  to  it.'     Very  shortly  after  the  'True  Funerals'  of 
Montrose,  the  head  of  his  great  enemy  Argyll  replaced  his  on  the  Tolbooth."     Montrose  and  the  Covenanters, 
Napier. 


66  ABBOTSFORD 

assailed  with  sledge-hammers,  iron-crows,  and  the  coulters  of  ploughs  ready  provided 
for  the  purpose,  with  which  they  prised,  heaved,  and  battered  for  some  time  with 
little  effect — the  door  being  of  double  oak  planks,  clenched,  both  end-long  and 
athwart,  with  broad-headed  nails,  and  so  hung  and  secured  as  to  yield  to  no  means  of 
forcing  without  the  expenditure  of  much  time."  ..."  The  passive  resistance  of  the 
Tolbooth"  continued  to  baffle  the  conspirators  until  at  "length  a  voice  was  heard  t6 
pronounce  the  words  '  Try  it  with  fire.'  The  rioters,  with  a  unanimous  shout, 
called  for  combustibles ;  and  as  all  their  wishes  seemed  to  be  instantly  supplied,  they 
were  soon  in  possession  of  two  or  three  empty  tar-barrels.  A  huge,  red,  glaring  bon- 
fire soon  arose  close  to  the  door  of  the  prison,  sending  up  a  tall  column  of  smoke 
and  flames  against  its  antique  turrets  and  strongly  grated  windows,  and  illuminating 
the  ferocious  faces  and  wild  gestures  of  the  rioters  who  surrounded  the  place,  as  well 
as  the  pale  and  anxious  groups  of  those  who  from  windows  in  the  vicinage  watched 
the  progress  of  this  alarming  scene.  The  mob  fed  the  fire  with  whatever  they  could 
find  fit  for  the  purpose.  The  flames  roared  and  crackled  among  the  heaps  of  nourish- 
ment piled  on  the  fire,  and  a  terrible  shout  soon  announced  that  the  door  had  kindled, 
and  was  in  the  act  of  being  destroyed.  The  fire  was  suffered  to  decay,  but  long  ere  it 
was  quite  extinguished  the  most  forward  of  the  rioters  rushed,  in  their  impatience, 
one  after  another,  over  its  smouldering  remains." 

This  episode  seems  to  have  been  the  last  of  any  public  interest  connected  with 
the  Tolbooth,  and  before  another  century  had  elapsed  the  building  had  disappeared, 
leaving  only  the  memory  of  the  crimes  and  sorrows  of  which  it  had  been  the  silent 
witness. 


PR 

5338 

M3 


Maxwell-Scott,  (Hon.)  Mary 
Monica 

Abbots ford 


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